GEOGRAPHY 


OF 


MINNESOTA 


e-ocx* 


HALL 
LEHNERTS 


Rand  M^Nally  &  Ca 


Vol. 


LIBRARY 
Connecticut  State  College 


class 


qjon^ 


Date  rXJ^    11         19ST^ 


BOOK    910.7.Hla    c,  1 

HALL    I    OOOGES    GEOGRAPHY    OF 

MINNESOTA    BY    C    W    HALL    AND    E    M    LEH 


^ 


3    T153  DD20bS17  7 


4652 


\\- 


This  Book  may  be  kept  out 

TTT^n  WEEKS 


V 


DODGE'S  GEOGRAPHY      t 
OF  MINNESOTA 

By 

CHRISTOPHER  WEBBER   HALL 

Professor  of  Geology  and  Mineralogy,  the  University  of  Minnesota,  Minneapolis,  Minnesota 

and 

EDWARD  M.   LEHXERTS 

Professor  of  Geography,  the  University  of  Minnesota,  Minneapolis,  Minnesota 


Part  I 

MINNESOTA   AS  A   WHOLE 

Part  II 

THE   GROWTH  AND   DEVELOPMENT  OF  CITIES 

Part  III 

STATISTICS  AND  AIDS  TO   TEACHERS 


CHICAGO    NEW  YORK   LONDON 

RAND,    McNALLY  &   COMPANY 


obge'is  #eosrapf)ical  Series 

By    RICHARD    ELWOOU    DODGE 
Proffssor  of  Geofrraphy,  Teachers  College,  Columbia   University,  New   York  City 


Dodge's  Two-Book  Series  of  Geography 
DODGE'S  ELEMENTARY  GEOGRAPHY    ...    $  .65 


Special  Mahod  Causal  Relations  treated  by  induction.  Reason- 
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PART  /—HOME  GEOGRAPHY 

Central  Thought:  The  relation  of  the  individual  pupil  to  all  parts 
of  his  country,  showing  the  interdependence  of  people  commercially 
and  industrially. 

PART  //—WORLD  RELATIONS  AND  THE 
CONTINENTS 

Central  Thought:  The  relation  of  the  individual  pupil  to  the 
world  as  a  whole,  showing  the  interdependence  of  nations  com- 
mercially and  industrially,  and  placing  special  emphasis  on  the 
lives  and  occupations  of  the  people. 

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Special  Method-  Causal  Relations  treated  by  deduction.  Reason- 
ing from  causes  to  consequences. 

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The  dependence  of  life  and  industry  on  physi- 

PART  //—COMPARATIVE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  THE 
CONTINENTS 

Central  Thought:  Commerce  and  industry  as  well  as  political 
divisions  the  outgrowth  of  i>hysical  conditions,  the  reasons  there- 
for, and  comparisons  of  these  and  other  points  in  the  various 
countries. 


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RELATIONS    

PART  /—HOME  GEOGRAPHY 
Central  Thought:     The    relation    of    the    indi\-idual    pupil    to   all 
parts  of  his  country,  showing  the  interdependence  of  people  com- 
mercially and  industrially- 

PART  //—WORLD  RELATIONS 
Central  Thought:     The   relation  of    the  individual  pupil   to  the 
world  as  a  whole,  showing  the  interdependence  of  nations  commer- 
cially and  industrially 

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RAPHY   $  .50 

special  emphasis  on  the  lives  and  occupations  of  people 
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NORTH  AMERICA  $  -75 

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cal environment 

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CONTINENTS !     .    $  .70 

Ccnirai  Thou^ki.  Commerce  and  industrv  as  well  as  political 
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and  comparisons  of  these  and  other  points  in  the  various  countries. 

Special  Method  Books  Three  and  Four:  Causal  Relations  treated 
by  deduction       Reasoning  from  causes  to  consequences. 


GENERAL  CRITICS  FOR  BOTH  SERIES 


Louisville 


SPECIAL  CRITICS  FOR  THE  ELEMENTARY  GEOGRAPHY  AND  BOOKS  I  AND  II  BY  GRADES 

icipal  of  Spever  School.  Te 
Mpal  of  Grammar  School   N 

SPECIAL  CRITICS   FOR   THE  ADVANCED  GEOGRAPHY  AND   BOOKS  III  AND  IV  BY  GRADES 


Copyright,  /y/c 

By  Rand,  McN.ally  &  Co. 

Revised,  1Q12 


mite  ^anb  -  2Pcilallu  S>vea» 


THE   INTRODUCTION 

Xi  3  SI 

HOME  Geography  is  usually  the  tirst  work  to  be  taken  up  in  any  study  of  geography 
because  beginning  students  need  to  know  first  the  geography  of  the  locality  in  which 
they  live,  in  which  they  are  most  interested,  and  with  which  they  are  most  familiar 
from  personal  experience.  The  results  gained  from  a  study  of  the  region  they  can  see  gives 
them  the  ability  to  understand  remote  regions  that  can  only  be  pictured  or  described  to  them. 
Because  our  own  home  locality  is  of  most  interest  to  us  is  also  a  reason  why  we  need  to  know 
it  better  than  we  need  to  know  any  other  region  of  the  world.  Hence  at  some  time  during 
the  school  course  it  is  most  valuable  to  make  a  careful  study  of  the  state  or  group  of  states  in 
v/hich  we  live  that  we  may  have  a  better  \mderstanding  of  the  geography  about  us  than  we 
can  get  from  the  necessarily  brief  accounts  given  in  a  text-book  of  geography. 

In  a  text -book  of  geography  we  study  the  relation  of  one  state  or  group  of  states  to  the 
whole  country  of  which  our  home  region  is  a  part,  and  our  commercial  relations  to  the  world 
as  a  whole.  It  follows  that  in  such  a  treatment  the  characteristics  that  distinguish  our  own 
home  regions  must  largely  be  lost  to  sight  in  the  consideration  of  the  great  features  that 
distinguish   the   countr}-  as  a   whole. 

In  a  special  text-book  devoted  to  one  state  or  group  of  states  we  can  learn  more  about 
our  ovrti  region,  its  important  surface  features,  its  climate,  the  occupations  of  its  people,  it' 
products,  its  local  commerce,  its  history,  its  chief  cities,  and  many  other  features  of  great 
interest  to  us.  Hence  we  need  to  make  a  special  study  of  our  home  locality  after  we  have 
studied  the  larger  region  of  which  it  is  an  important  part.  A  local  geography  is  not  only 
valuable  for  study  in  school  that  we  may  know  well  the  region  about  us,  but  it  is  valuable 
also  as  a  reference  volume  to  wliich  we  can  refer  for  facts  about  our  own  state  in  our  homes 
whenever  in  our  reading  or  conversation  some  question  arises  concerning  our  own  state  which 
needs  to  be  answered  at  once. 

In  this  text-book  the  surface  features,  the  climate,  the  soil  and  other  natural  resources 
which  determine  the  occupations  of  the  people  are  studied  first  because  they  are  the  large 
features  which  determine  the  distribution  and  success  of  industries.  One  of  the  great  lessons 
the  student  learns  in  geography  is  Man's  absolute  dependence  upon  Nature  for  his  existence. 
In  this  state,  as  in  other  regions,  topography  and  climate  pointed  out  the  path  of  development 
that  communities  must  follow  in  order  to  make  sure  their  existence  within  its  borders.  In  the 
pages  that  follow,  the  student  finds  traced  the  fundamental  conditions  that  have  moulded  the 
life  of  the  state.  After  these  come  the  historical  events  that  are  landmarks  in  its  growth,  and 
then  the  study  of  the  industrial  and  commercial  features  is  taken  up.  To  these,  which  explain 
the  reasons  for  the  development  and  growth  of  the  larger  cities,  and  which  show  us  why  our 
own  region  is  important  to  the  country  as  a  whole,  careful  attention  has  been  given. 

Certain  facts  like  the  distribution  and  character  of  educational  institutions,  the  distribution 
of  congressional  districts,  and  the  form  of  government  in  the  region  are  included,  because  our 
knowledge  of  our  own  locality  would  be  incomplete  without  them.  These  fittingly  illustrate 
the  political  unity  that  binds  together  the  interests  of  all  the  individuals  who  form  the  body- 
politic  which  we  call  the  state. 

That  this  book  may  prove  especially  valuable  as  a  reference  work  which  may  properly 
be  made  a  part  of  the  family  library  for  constant  consultation  on  many  points,  carefully 
prepared   diagrams,  tables  of    statistics,  and   references  to  further  reading  have  been  included. 

RICHARD  ELWOOD  DODGE. 


THE    TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


The  Introduction 


PART  I.     MINNESOTA  AS  A  WHOLE 


Location      ... 

Size         .... 

Surface 

Drainage      ... 

Lakes     .... 

Geological  Growth 

Underground  Waters 

Climate 

Vegetation 

Animals 


PAGE 

7 
7 
7 


PAGE 

Agriculture 20 

Quarrying 22 

Mining          23 

Manufactures 24 

Commerce 25 

Early  History 26 

The  People 28 

Government 29 

Education         29 

Charities  and  Corrections ^o 


PART  II.     THE  (;R0\VTH  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CITIES  AND  TOWNS 


Gain  in  Population 31 

The  Twin  Cities,  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul  .  31 

Still  Other  Mississippi  Valley  Towns     .      .      .       ■  .5,5 

Upper  Mississippi  Valley  Towns 34 


Towns  of  the  Minnesota  Valley  . 
Red  River  Valley  Towns 
Towns  of  the  Central  Prairie  Region 
Towns  of  Northeastern  Minnesota    . 


PART  III.     STATISTICS  AND  AIDS  TO  TEACHERS 


PAGE 

Statistics  of  the  State  of  Minnesota,    by  Counties, 

Federal  Census   of  iqoo    and     igio      .      .      .     39 

State  or  Country  of  Birth  of  Population  of  Minne- 
sota, Federal  Census  of  1900  and  State 
Census,    1905 40 

The   Population   of   Minnesota   at    Each    Federal 

Census   from    1830   to  1910 40 

Population  of  the  Principal  Cities  and  Towns  of 
Minnesota,  at  Each  Federal  Census  from 
i860  to    1910 40 

Principal   Items   of   Minnesota's   AVealth,    United 

States  Bureau  of  Statistics,  1 900-1 904      .      .     40 


Value    of    Agricultural    Products    of    Minnesota. 

Federal    Census    of     1900     and    Year    Book, 

U.   S.   Department  of  Agriculture,    lOoS. 
Value  of  Live  Stock  in  Minnesota,  Federal  Census 

of  I  goo  and  Year  Book,  U.  S.  Department  of 

Agriculture.  1908 
Some  of  the  Leading  Industries 
The  Leading  .Manufacturing  Cities 
Iron-ore  Production     .... 
Suggestive  Questions 
Suggestions   for   Collateral    Reading 
Index  


(4) 


THE   GEOGRAPHY  OF    MINNESOTA 


A    LIST    OF    THE    MAPS    AND    DIAGRAMS 


A  Relief  Map  of  Minnesota 7 

A  Political  Map  of  Minnesota 8-9 

A  Physical  Map  of  Minnesota 10 

A   Map  of   Lake   Minnetonka,   a  Typical  Glacial 

Lake  in  the  Maturity  of  its  Lake  Beauty    .  14 

Map  Showing  Average  Annual  Temperature  from 

1897  to  1909 17 

Map  Showing  Average  Annual  Rainfall  from  1897 

to  1909 18 

The  Average  Annual  Rainfall  at  Winnebago.  Fer- 
gus Falls,  and  Hallock,  from  1900  to  1 910  18 

Map  Showing  Forest  Reserves,  Indian  and  Mili- 
tary Reservations 19 

The  Value  of  Farm   Products  per  Square   Mile, 

Census  of  1900 20 

The  Wheat  Crop  of  Minnesota  for  Five  Decades, 
1 86  7  to  1907,  and  for  1908,  in  Millions  of 
Bushels 21 

The  Value  of  Manufactured  Products  per  Square 

Mile,  Census  of  1900        ...  ...      23 


PAGE 

The  Railroad  Mileage  of  Minnesota  for  Each  Ten 
Years,  from  1870  to  1900,  and  for  the  Years 
1905,  1908,  and  1909,  in  Thousands  of  Miles    .      25 

An  Historical  Map  of  Minnesota 26 

The  Population  of  Minnesota  in  Tens  of  Thousands 
and   the   Density  of   Poptilation  per   Square 

Mile  at  Each  Federal  Census 27 

Proportion  of  Persons  in  Minnesota  Engaged  in 
Each  of  the  Leading  Occupations,  Census  of 

1900 27 

State  of  Birth  of  the  Native-bom  Popvilation  of 

Minnesota,  Census  of  1905 28 

Proportion    of    Foreign-bom    from    Each    of    the 

Leading  Countries  of  Europe,  Census  of  1905  28 
The  Congressional  Districts  of  Minnesota  ...  28 
The  Leading  Educational  Institutions  of  Minnesota  29 
The  Density  of  Urban  Population  in  Minnesota, 

Census  of  1905      ...  31 

A  Map  of  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  and  Vicinity.       .      32 
A  Map  of  Duluth  and  Vicinity 38 


A    LIST   OF    THE    ILLUSTRATIONS 


A  Minnesota  Pine  Forest.  The  Road  shows  the 
Preparation  for  Cutting  .      .   Frontispiece 

Scene  on  a  Farm  in  the  Red  River  Valley 

At  the  Outlet  of  Lake  Itasca 

Scene  on  the  Big  Cottonwood  River 

View  of  a  Great  Dairy  Farm  on  Land  Originally 
Covered  with  White-pine  Forest 

A  Swamp  Area  Partially  Covered  with  Spruce 
Balsam,  and  Tamarack 

A  View  of  Lake  Pepin 

Scene  on  the  Redwood  River i& 

Norivay  Pine  on  the  Shore  of  Lake  Itasca         .  19 

Cutting  Com  for  the  Silo 

Harvesting  Com  with  a  Com  Binder     . 

A  Herd  of  Dairy  Cows 

A  Cooperative  Creamery  at  Litchfield   . 

A  Field  of  Oats  in  the  Lake  District  of  Minnesot 

View  of  a  Quarry  and  Plant  near  New  Ulm 

The  Fayal  Mine  at  Eveleth  in  the  Mesabi  Range 

Type  of  Steam  Shovel  Used  in  Mining  Ore  . 

A  Present-day  View  of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony 

Avenue  of  Skidways  on  Pine  Island 


Steam  Hauler  Transporting   Forty-nine   Cords    of 

Wood   over  an  Ice  Road 24 

The  Logs  have  reached  Minneapolis  ....  24 
A  View  of  the  ililling  District  in  Minneapolis  .  .  25 
Scene  on  the  ■Mississippi  at  Gray  Cloud  Island      .      25 

General  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike 26 

An  Old  Indian  Grave  on  the  Bank  of  Leech  Lake      27 

The  Capitol  at  St.  Paul 28 

A  Class  in  Com  Judging,   a    Study  in  the  Short 

Course,  School  of  Agriculture,  State  University 
A  Scene  wn  the  Mississippi  River  near  Minnehaha 

Falls 

View  of  a  Residence  Street  in  Jlinneapolis 

On  Summit  Avenue,  the  Principal  Residence  Street 

of  St.  Paul       .      .  

Sugar  Loaf  Mountain ^3 

The  State  Training  School  for  Boys,  Lying  among 

Wooded  Bluffs  near  the  City  of  Red  Wing      .      34 
A  Scene  on  One  of  the  Business  Streets  of  Brainerd     35 

A  Section  of  the  City  of  Faribault 36 

A  Panoramic  View  of  the  City  of  Duluth  ...  36 
A  Continuation  of  the  View  Presented  in  Fig.  55     37 


30 


33 


.4  Minnesota  pine  jorcst.      I  iic  road  siioics  the  fn  faralion  Jor  cutting. 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 

By  Christopher  Webber  Hall,   Professor  of  Geology  and  Mineralogy,   the  University  of  Minnesota,  Minneapolis, 
and  Edward  M.  Lehnerts,  Professor  of  Geography,  the  University  of  Minnesota,  Minneapolis. 


I.     MIXXESOTA  AS  A  WHOLE 

Location.  ]\Iinnesota  occupies  a  central 
position  in  North  America,  lying  equally- 
distant  from  Beaufort  Sea  and  from  the 
Caribbean,  and  halfway  between  the  GuH  of 
California  and  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 
It  is  the  crest  of  non-mountainous  North 
America,  since  the  sources  of  three  great 
river  systems,  the  Nelson,  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  the  Mississippi, 
are  within  its  borders. 
(Adv.  Geog.,  Fig.  173.) 

Mathematically 
placed,  the  state  Ues 
between  parallel  43° 
30',  its  southern 
boundary,  and  paral- 
lel 49°,  which  forms 
the  western  part  of 
its  northern  boundary. 
The  northernmost 
point  of  the  state  lies 
within  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods  (Fig.  2),  reach- 
ing parallel  49°  23' 
50.28".  This  is  also 
the  most  northerly 
point  in  the  boundary 
between  the  United 
States  and  Canada, 
and  attains  22.85 
miles  north  of  the  49th  parallel,  the  great 
boundary  Une  between  these  two  countries, 
from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.     (Adv.  Geog.,  Fig.  192.) 

The  easternmost  land  in  Minnesota  is  89° 
54'  west  longitude,  but  the  boundary  between 
this  state  and  Michigan  Ues  30'  farther  east- 
ward in  Lake  Superior.  Westward,  the  state 
reaches  97°  12'  west  longitude.     (Fig.  2.) 


Size.  The  total  area  of  Minnesota  is 
87,196  square  miles.  This  area  includes  that 
portion  of  Lake  Superior — 2,514  square 
miles — adjoining  and  within  the  poHtical 
boundaries  of  JMinnesota.  The  remainder  of 
the  water  surface,  embraced  in  the  rivers  and 
lakes  of  the  state  other  than  Lake  Superior, 
has  an  area  of  3,824  square  miles.  This 
leaves  a  land  surface  of  80,858  square  miles, 
or  about  51,730,000  acres;  enough  land  to 
make  more  than 
323,000  farms  of  160 
acres  each,  the  largest 
acreage  that  can  be 
taken  by  a  single  citi- 
zen under  the  national 
homestead  laws. 

In  comparison  with 
Minnesota,  only  nine 
other  states  contain 
more  square  miles, 
and  only  eighteen 
states  have  been 
longer  in  the  Union. 
The  greatest  length 
of  the  state  from  north 
to  south,  between 
Iowa  and  the  north- 
ernmost point  in  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods,  is 
408  miles.  The  great- 
est \\^idth,  between 
St.  Vincent  and  Pigeon  Point,  is  357  miles. 
On  account  of  the  westward  curve  of  the 
St.  Croix  River  the  width  across  the  state, 
from  Big  Stone  Lake  to  Lake  St.  Croix,  or 
from  Ortonville  to  Stillwater,  is  less  than 
180  miles.     (Fig.  2.) 

Surface.  Although  Minnesota  is  best 
known  as  a  border  state  lying  between 
the  prairies  and  the  forests,  there  is  much 


relief  map  of  Minnesota. 


(7) 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


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THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


Missouri  River.  Along  the  eastern  side 
the  land  drains  to  the  Minnesota  River,  the 
streams  flowing  across  a  gentle  slope  from 
fifty  to  seventy-five  miles  in  width.  (Fig.  3.) 
The  highest  ground  of  the  Coteau  lies  2,000 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

This  region  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
early  explorers,  who,  viewing  its  treeless  sur- 
face ghstening  in  the  sun,  named  it  the  "Shin- 
ing Mountains."  This,  like  the  southeastern 
comer  of  the  state,  was  first  extensively 
devoted  to  wheat 
raising,  but  at  the 
present  time  is  used 
for  more  diversified 
farming.  Stock  rais- 
ing and  the  growing 
of  corn,  oats,  barley, 
and  flax  have  now 
practically  taken  the 
place  of  the  earlier 
and  exclusive  wheat- 
raising  industry. 

Following  the  Mis- 
sissippi River  from 
the  Iowa  border, 
where  that  stream 
leaves  Minnesota  ter- 
ritory, to  St.  Paul, 
there  extends  a  valley 
from  six  to  two  miles 
wide.  (Fig.  3.)  Of 
this  valley,  tmtil  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  Croix  River  is  reached, 
only  that  portion  west  of  the  main  channel 
of  the  Mississippi  is  in  Minnesota.  Above 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix,  the  valley  lies 
entirely  within  the  state. 

The  valley  of  the  Minnesota  from  St.  Paul 
to  Browns  Valley  is  a  flood  plain  from  one 
to  six  miles  wide.  This  plain  is  extremely 
fertile  and  is  the  center  of  extensive  agri- 
cultural industries.  The  divide  at  Browns 
Valley  separates  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi 
Basin    from    those    of    the    Hudson    Bay. 


(Fig.  3.)  This  divide  is  only  962  feet  above 
the  sea.  Within  the  Mississippi-Minnesota 
Valley  lives  a  large  population.  Here  are 
located  the  cities  of  Winona,  Wabasha,  Red 
Wing,  Hastings,  St. Paul,  St.  Peter,  Mankato, 
New  Ulm,  and  a  score  or  more  of  smaller 
towns. 

The  Upper  Mississippi  Valley  comprises 
that  portion  of  the  state  stretching  from  the 
confluence  of  the  Mississippi  and  Minnesota 
rivers  at  Fort  Snelling  to  Lake  Itasca,  the 
source  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. Lumbering  was 
the  early  industry  of 
this  region,  comprising 
an  area  of  more  than 
20,000  square  miles. 
The  highest  land  of 
the  Upper  Mississippi 
Valley  is  along  the 
border  line  between 
the  Mississippi  and 
the  Red  River.  The 
approximate  altitude 
here  is  between  1,500 
and  1,750  feet;  the 
lowest  point  is  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Minne- 
sota River,  where  688 
feet  is  the  height  at 
low  water.  Around 
the  sources  of  the 
Mississippi  lie  some  of 
the  largest  and  most  beautiful  lakes  in  Minne- 
sota. Lake  Itasca  (Fig.  15)  and  the  region 
immediately  surrounding  it  are  conserved  for 
the  use  of  the  people  of  the  state  as  Itasca 
State  Park. 

Going  down  the  river,  lakes  Bemidji, 
Cass,  and  Winnibigoshish  lie  in  its  course. 
Beautiful  Leech  Lake,  Pokegama  Lake,  and 
hundreds  of  other  lakes  adjacent  to  the 
river's  channel,  add  to  the  wonderful 
diversity  of  landscape  for  which  the  Upper 
Mississippi  Valley  is  justly  famed. 


.4  physical  map  of  M iiDicsota. 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


East  of  the  Mississippi  and  farther  south 
lies  Mille  Lacs  with  200  square  miles  of  water 
surface,  the  source  of  Rum  River,  one  of  the 
important  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  greater  part  of  the  Upper  Mississippi 
area  consists  of  morainic  belts,  ancient  lake 
basins  now  filled,  stretches  of  sandy  soil,  and 
extensive  marshes.  Its  altitude  varies  from 
688  feet,  the  low-water  mark  at  Fort  Snelling, 
to  1,750  feet,  the  highest  land  on  the  divide 
between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Red  River 
basins.  The  first  industry  of  the  region  was 
lumbering.  In  the  Mississippi  Valley  and 
the  Valley  of  the  St.  Croix,  this  industry  not 
only  led  to  early  settlement  but  also  largely 
directed  the  course  of  population. 

In  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  state 
lies  a  tract  of  land  extending  from  the 
forested  region  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  west- 
ward beyond  the  region  of  trees  into  the 
great  prairie  of  the  Red  River  Valley.  The 
land  slopes  down  gently  from  an  altitude 
ranging  from  1,200  to  1,750  feet  to  that  of 
the  Red  River  itself,  which  leaves  the  state 
at  753  feet.  (Fig.  3.)  The  zone  between 
prairie  and  forest  cuts  this  region  into  two 
nearly  equal  parts. 

The  rich  soils  of  the  Red  River  Valley 
(Fig.  4)  were  formed  by  the  laying  down 
of  lake  muds  in  a  very  large  lake  which 
existed  at  the  close  of  the  Glacial  Period. 
The  eastern  portion  of  the  valley  presents  a 


gentle  slope,  but  the  western  portion  is  an 
almost  level  plain  several  thousands  of 
square  miles  in  extent.  Along  the  eastern 
border  of  this  plain  extends  a  series  of  well- 
defined  gravel  ridges.  These  are  the  beach 
lines  of  the  shore  of  ancient  Lake  Agassiz. 
They  afford  an  easy  means  of  outlining  the 
eastern  border  of  this  remarkable  glacial  lake. 
Outside  and  to  the  east  of  these  beaches  lies 
a  moderately  rolling  prairie,  which  gradually 
disappears  in  the  thickening  forests  of  the 
Upper  Mississippi  and  Rainy  River  valleys. 

Northeastern  Minnesota  is  much  rougher 
and  more  uneven  than  any  other  division 
of  the  state.  Its  lowest  level  is  the  short 
of  Lake  Superior,  602.2  feet  above  the  sea, 
and  its  highest  point  (2,230  feet)  is  a  summit 
in  the  Misquah  Hills  of  northern  Cook  and 
Lake  counties.  These  extremes  are  also  the 
lowest  and  highest  points  within  the  state. 

In  this  portion  of  the  state  the  covering 
of  glacial  drift  is  so  thin  that  frequently  the 
underlying  rocks  are  exposed.  Hence  this 
is  regarded  as  the  rocky  region  of  the  state. 
Along  the  northern  side  the  rocks  locally 
seem  to  lie  in  long,  narrow  ridges,  producing 
parallel  ranges  of  hills. 

Just  north  of  the  Lake  Superior  shore  are 
seen  the  Sawteeth  Mountains,  forming  the 
only  mountain  range  in  the  state.  The 
summits  stand  like  a  row  of  saw  teeth, 
reaching  a  height  of  from  800  to  1,200  feet 


Scene  on  a  farm  in  the  Red  River  Valley.     Here  the  steam  plow  is  used  in  preparing 
great  tracts  of  land  for  planting. 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


above  the  lake.  In  this  part  of  the  state 
lie  great  stores  of  iron  ore,  building  stone, 
clay,  and  other  materials  which  are  begin- 
ning to  be  developed. 

Drainage.  Owing  to  its  central  position 
in  the  continent  (Adv.  Geog.,  Fig.  183),  the 
rivers  of  Minnesota  flow  in  several  different 
directions.  (Fig.  i.)  In  the  northwestern 
portion  of  the  state  the  waters  are  carried 
northward  into  Hudson  Bay  by  the  Red 
River  and  the  Rainy 
River,  which  belong 
to  the  Nelson  System. 
These  streams  drain 
approximately  28,040 
square  miles.  In  the 
northeastern  comer  of 
Minnesota  is  an  area 
of  7,175  square  miles 
that  is  tributary  to 
Lake  Superior.  This 
area  is  a  part  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  River 
Basin.  The  central 
and  southern  portions 
of  the  state  drain  to 
the  Mississippi. 

The  drainage  of  the 
state  comprises  the  fol- 
lowing subdivisions : 

1 .  The  Nelson  System 
is  represented  in  the 
northern  part,  west 
of  the  90th  meridian, 
by  a  large  number  of 

short  streams  flowing  into  the  chain  of 
lakes  and  rivers  that  form  the  International 
Boundary  (Fig.  2),  and  by  the  Red  River, 
which  rises  only  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  west  of 
the  sotirce  of  the  Mississippi  River.  These 
streams  together  drain  more  than  28,000 
square  miles  of  Minnesota  territory  to  the 
north. 

2.  The  Mississippi  River  System,  which  has 
its  source  in  Lake  Itasca,  a  picturesque  sheet 


of  water  in  the  central  part  of  the  state  (Fig. 
5),  is  the  most  important  drainage  channel. 
This  river,  with  all  its  tributaries,  drains 
50,000  square  miles  and  more  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  Rock  River  and  several  smaller 
streams  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  state 
flow  into  the  Missouri,  and  through  this 
great  river  into  the  Mississippi. 

3.  The  St.  Lawrence  River  System,  begin- 
ning among  rocky  hills  in  northeastern  Minne- 
sota as  the  St.  Louis 
River,  drains  between 
7,000  and  8,000  square 
miles  through  the 
chain  of  the  Great 
Lakes  and  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence  into  the 
Atlantic  Ocean. 

In  the  southeastern 
corner  of  the  state  the 
streams  have  cut  deep 
channels  in  the  sur- 
face of  the  land  and 
present  a  maturing 
drainage.  The  general 
level  of  the  prairies 
represents  a  former 
lowland,  below  which, 
'  uing  to  an  elevation 
I  the  land,  the  streams 
have  cut  down  several 
liundred  feet  and  are 
still  steadily  cutting. 
In  this  process  valleys 
have  been  continually 
broadened  and  more  bottom  lands  made  avail- 
able for  agricultural  and  commercial  uses. 

The  remainder  of  the  state  is  much  less 
dissected  than  the  southeastern  corner. 
Yet  the  streams  everywhere  have  channels 
so  young  that  they  are  still  actively  cutting 
down  their  beds.  Fine  examples  of  such 
young  streams  are  found  all  over  the  state. 
(Fig.  6.)  According  to  the  estimates  of 
geologists,  the    ice    of   the    Glacial    Period 


ake  Itasca,  the  beginnings 
sippi  River. 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


13 


Scene  on  the  Bi 
a  degrading  river 


retreated  from  Min- 
nesota only  a  few 
thousand  years  ago. 
The  southeastern 
comer  of  the  state, 
embracing  Houston 
and  Winona  coimties 
and  portions  of  sev- 
eral other  adjoining 
counties,  was  never 
covered  so  deeply 
with  ice  as  were  the 
more  northern  and 
western  portions. 
This  explains  the 
wide  difference  between  the  gently-rolling, 
mature  surface  of  southeastern  Minnesota 
and  the  more  youthful  surface,  with  steep 
slopes  and  active  streams,  shown  in  other 
portions  of  the  state. 

The  divides  separating  the  several  drainage 
basins  (Fig.  i )  are  not  high  ridges  of  ground 
but  simply  elevated  surfaces  from  which  the 
water  flows  when  the  snows  melt  or  the  sur- 
plus rain  water  is  to  be  removed.  A  divide 
may  be  seen  on  almost  any  farm  in  the  state 
or  even  from  the  windows  of  the  school- 
houses.  (Fig.  7.)  It  marks  the  flow  of  the  sur- 
face water  in  one  direction  or  another  even 
when  the  streams  on  either  side  of  it  are 
the  common  branches  of  one  larger  stream, 
creek,   or  river.     Only  where   such   divides 


Cottonwood  River,  showi 
vigorously  at  work. 


part  the  waters  of  the 
principal  rivers  of 
the  state  and  their 
basins  are  they  given 
place  on  the  map. 

Lakes.  No  story  of 
Minnesota  would  be 
complete  without 
making  prominent  its 
remarkable  lakes,  as 
they  are  one  of  the 
most  striking  scenic 
features  of  the  state. 
They  not  only  con- 
tribute beauty  of  the 
highest  order  to  the  landscape,  but  perform 
many  other  ftmctions.  They  furnish  food  and 
water  for  all  animal  life ;  they  serve  as  reser- 
voirs of  power  for  the  manufacturer;  they 
afford  lines  of '  transportation  for  many  of 
the  state's  products,  and  offer  thousands 
of  spots  where  people  may  go  for  rest  and 
recreation  in  the  summer. 

Lakes  are  vast  storehouses  of  heat,  receiv- 
ing this  energy  from  the  intense  rays  of  the 
sun  in  summer  and  giving  it  back  gradually 
to  the  air  during  the  shortening  autumn  days, 
thus  tempering  the  climate.  Ice,  which  has 
become  a  necessity  of  modern  life,  is  taken  in 
vast  quantities  and  of  the  highest  purity  from 
hundreds  of  lake  surfaces  scattered  through 
nearly  every  portion  of  the  state.     (Fig.  2.) 


rti 

MM 

a» — •  1 — '"^(ijipyMM 

^R^9H^ 

,jj^S9 

iJ!MliBEJ_i^>^_i,^ggfig^^^^^^^^^BS^^3fc^.-' 

.JjggUtM^^ 

m^ 

■ 

CopTrigfat.  by  H.  D.  Ajer 


Fig.  7. 


View  of  a  great  dairy  farm  on  land  originally  covered  with  white-pine  forest, 
may  be  seen  a  divide  or  waterslied. 


In  the  background 


14 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


V%^, 


LAKE  MINNETONKA 

and  vicinity 

Scale 

i^{, Miles  to  one  inch 


Railways 

Electric  Lines 


o«<>:,--riat 


Browns  Bay 
Lookout  Point 

Orono  roint      . 


^li'Tjnetonka 

Beach  v i 


umbra      \ 


Luke 
-{ifinneii'aslJt, 


2^ 


From  U.  'J.  GeoIoKlcRl  SuTTBj 

Fig.  8.     .4   map  of  Lake  Minnetonka,  a  typical  glacial  lake  in  the  maturity  of  its  lake  beauty. 


The  lakes  of  Minnesota  are  not  evenly  dis- 
tributed. In  some  parts  of  the  state,  as  in 
the  great  Red  River  Valley  to  the  northwest, 
or  in  the  physiographically  more  mature 
region  of  the  southeastern  comer,  one  may 
traverse  entire  counties  without  seeing  a  lake 
beyond  the  occasional  sink  holes,  or  local 
depressions,  where  limestones  beneath  have 
been  removed  by  the  action  of  rains  or 
running  water. 

In  the  southwestern  part  of  the  state  more 
lakes  are  seen  than  in  the  two  subdivisions 
just  mentioned,  yet  even  here  the  lakes  are 
very  scattering.  Everywhere  throughout 
the  state,  and  more  particularly  where  the 
lake?  are  few  in  number,  former  lakes,  by 
being  filled  with  vegetation  and  silt  (Fig. 
9),  have  been  changed  to  swamp  areas  or 
have  entirely  disappeared. 

Within  a  tract  beginning  near  the  St. 
Croix  River  in  Chisago  and  Washington 
counties,   thence  passing  near  the  cities  of 


Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul,  and  extending 
northwestward  to  the  edge  of  the  Red  River 
Valley,  then  turning  nearly  a  right  angle 
and  extending  to  Ontario  across  the  central 
and  northeastern  portions  of  the  state,  lie 
thousands  of  lakes.  These  lakes  are  of 
every  possible  shape  and  size,  from  mere 
drinking  pools  for  cattle  to  sheets  of  water 
many  square  miles  in  extent.  (Fig.  8.) 
The  largest  lake  lying  wholly  in  Minnesota 
is  Red  Lake,  with  an  area  of  more  than  440 
square  miles.  Some  of  these  lakes  are  very 
shallow,  while  others  are  hundreds  of  feet 
in  depth. 

The  origin  of  Minnesota's  lakes  is  not  far 
to  seek.  The  greater  number  has  resulted 
from  the  uneven  distribution  of  glacial  drift, 
and  has  existed  since  the  final  retreat  of  the 
ice  of  the  Glacial  Period.  Indeed,  we  have 
evidence. that  some  of  them  existed  at  the 
foot  of  the  ice  streams  as  sheets  of  water 
formed  between  the  ice  front  and  a  bordering 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


15 


■ai)ip  area  partially  covered  with  spruce, 
balsam,  and  tamarack. 

ridge  of  land  across  which  no  channel  existed. 
Large  numbers  of  the  lakes  thus  formed  soon 
disappeared  as  the  ice  retreated  and  lower 
outlets  were  uncovered.  Thousands  still 
exist,  lying  nestled  in  the  midst  of  higher 
and  uneven  ground,  where  they,  too,  are 
slowly  disappearing  through  the  accumula- 
tion of  silt  and  weeds  or  by  draining. 

Other  lakes  are  formed  along  streams  where 
inflowing  creeks  and  rivers  bring  quantities 
of  silt  until  the  main  channel  of  the  stream 
is  blocked  and  the  volume  of  water  held  back. 
Such  is  Lac  qui  Parle,  formed  by  the  silting 
muds  and  sand  brought  into  the  channel  of 
the  Minnesota  River  by  Lac  qm  Parle  River. 
Lake  St.  Croix  is  another  example.  Here 
the  Mississippi  River  carries  a  volume  of  silt 
and  deposits  it  in  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix 
River  at  Point  Douglas.  The 
most  notable  example,  how- 
ever, is  Lake  Pepin.  This  lake 
is  formed  by  the  broadening 
and  deepening  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River  through  silt  that  is 
gathered  and  brought  down 
by  the  Chippewa  River  from 
higher  land  in  Wisconsin. 
(Fig.  10.)  This  silt,  deposited 
in  the  channel  of  the  Missis- 
sippi in  front  of  Wabasha,  has 


set  back  the  waters  of  this  great  river  for 
twenty-five  miles.  Other  illustrations  will 
be  foimd  as  the  study  of  the  state  is  car- 
ried forward. 

Still  other  lakes  are  those  walled  in  by 
ancient  rocks.  There  are  two  types  of  these 
rock-walled  lakes.  Lake  of  the  Woods  and 
Rainy  Lake  represent  one  type.  Imagine  a 
surface  several  thousand  square  miles  in 
extent  worn  tmevenly  by  ancient  rivers  and 
ice  fields  because  of  the  varying  hardness  of 
the  underlying  rock.  In  the  depressions  of 
this  surface  waters  now  accumtdate,  filling 
them  to  the  lowest  point  of  the  rim.  These 
are  also  rock-bottomed  lakes. 

Such  lakes  naturally  contain  hundreds  of 
islands.  Lake  of  the  Woods  contains  several 
thousand  islands,  hundreds  of  which  have 
received  names.  Rainy  Lake,  it  is  said, 
contains  500  islands,  and  Lake  Saganaga, 
another  boimdary  lake,  150.  These  islands 
are  simply  masses  of  hard  crystalline  rock 
which,  having  resisted  the  wear  and  tear 
of  glacial  erosion,  stand  as  protruding  knobs 
above  the  waters  of  the  lake. 

In  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  state  we 
find  another  type  of  rock-walled  lakes  occu- 
pying the  long,  narrow  valleys  characteristic 
of  the  district.  Lying  in  long,  narrow  rock- 
rifts,  these  lakes  consist  of  sheets  of  water 
often  miles  in  length  and  only  a  fraction 
of  a  mile  in  width.  Throughout  this  region 
the  lakes  are  all  quite  similar  in  form. 


Fig. 


:<  of  Lake  Pepin,  showing  the  development  of  sand  spits 
near  the  beautiful  village  of  Frontenac. 


i6 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


Geological  Growth.  In  the  history  of  the 
lands  the  series  of  events  from  the  earliest 
times  down  to  the  period  of  present  proc- 
esses and  conditions  is  too  long  to  be 
repeated,  yet  a  few  of  the  more  conspicu- 
ous features  of  the  building  up  of  the  land 
masses  of  the  state  should  be  mentioned. 

Land  imdoubtedly  existed  in  Minnesota 
as  early  as  it  appeared  anywhere  upon  North 
America.  The  great  rock  masses  stretching 
from  the  northeast  to  the  southwest  across 
Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  and  adjacent  Ontario, 
were  the  sources  of  supply  from  which  thick 
beds  of  sandstones,  shales,  and  limestones 
were  formed.  While  these  beds  of  sedi- 
mentary rocks  were  successively  laid  down 
the  land  repeatedly  sank  and  rose  again. 
It  was  also 
shattered  and 
faulted,  and 
volcanoes  were 
developed. 

These  distur- 
bances brought 
into  view  the 
granites  and 
gneisses  which 
now  abovmd  in  the  Minnesota  River  Valley 
(Fig.  ii),  in  central  Minnesota,  and  in  the 
northern  portions  of  the  state.  These  rocks 
represent  masses  of  material  which  once 
must  have  lain  thousands  of  feet  below 
the  surface  of  the  earth.  Layer  after  layer 
of  these  first-formed  rocks  was  worn  off, 
transported  by  rivers,  and  deposited  in 
the  seas  as  the  process  of  degradation 
went  on. 

Many  successive  formations  were  thus 
laid  down.  At  the  present  time  we  find 
these  in  the  enormous  masses  of  the  Mesabi 
Iron  Range,  in  the  red  rocks  of  southwestern 
Minnesota,  and  in  the  loose  sands  and  lime- 
stones along  the  Mississippi  as  portions  of 
a  shore-line  accumulation  stretching  from 
Sault  Ste.  Marie  to  Texas. 


Fig. 


Scene  on  \the  Redwood  Riv 
its  way  through  the 


Once  since  that  early  time  Minnesota  has 
been  beneath  the  sea.  Compared  with  the 
regions  farther  west  the  duration  of  this 
submergence  was  short.  Only  a  few  hundred 
feet  of  sands  and  shales  represent  the 
deposit  of  this  geologic  age.  From  this 
record  geologists  conclude  that  during  nearly 
all  the  early  ages  of  geological  history  Minne- 
sota contributed  to  the  accumulations  of  the 
sea,  and  therefore  to  the  subsequent  enlarge- 
ment of  the  land. 

After  these  bordering  beds  of  sand,  shale, 
and  limestone  had  been  laid  down,  the  state 
rose  above  the  sea  level,  and  for  the  millions 
of  years  following  has  been  a  region  where 
weathering  and  rock  decay  have  been  in  prog- 
ress.    In  this  long  interval  vast  quantities  of 

material  were 
contributed 
toward  the  fill- 
ing up  of  the 
adjacent  seas 
to  the  south 
and  west  until 
the  time  of  the 
Glacial  Period 
came. 

The  Glacial  Period  is  that  subdivision  or 
period  of  earth  history  during  which  glaciers 
crept  down  from  the  north  and  overrode  all 
Minnesota,  save  a  small  area  in  the  south- 
eastern comer  of  the  state.  This  advance 
of  ice  fields  occurred  not  only  once,  but 
several  times  in  succession.  Masses  of  ice 
entered  the  state  from  different  directions. 
One  of  them  came  from  Wisconsin,  another 
from  Manitoba,  and  so  on.  These  several 
ice  masses  doubtless  entered  the  state  at 
about  the  same  time;  but  as  the  climate 
changed  many  times,  the  ice  successively 
advanced  and  melted  back. 

Thus  a  succession  of  glacial  deposits 
followed  each  other,  and  the  history  of  the 
Glacial  Period  in  Minnesota,  as  well  as  in 
North  America,  became  very  complex.      Its 


er.     Here  the  water  is  slowly  cutting 
hard  layers  of  gneiss. 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


^7 


cause  was  undoubtedly  climatic — a  cooling 
of  the  temperature  of  the  region  through 
long  years;  but  the  cause  of  the  cooling  is 
not  known  with  certainty. 

The  progress  of  events  leading  to  the 
final  disappearance  of  the  great  glaciers  is 
full  of  interest.  How  many  periods  of 
advance  and  retreat  there  were  during  the 
time  the  vast  ice  sheet  extended  over  the 
state  and  finally  and  forever  retreated  be- 
yond its  borders,  we  do  not  know.  Several 
morainic  belts  have 
been  traced  across 
the  state  by  experts 
in  glacial  geology, 
and  their  influence 
on  the  economic 
development  of  the 
commonwealth  is 
very  great. 

Between  these 
moraines  lay  sandy 
plains  and  great 
glacial  lakes,  in  the 
beds  of  which  were 
deposited  the  lilts 
and  sediments  form- 
ing Minnesota's  vast, 
fertile  fields.  The 
Red  River  Valley 
(Fig.  3)  is  a  lake- 
bottom  plain  and 
one  of  the  richest 
spots  for  the  grow- 
ing of  cereals  yet  occupied  by  man.   (Fig.  4.) 

Underground  Waters.  Throughout  Min- 
nesota the  glacial  drift  is  the  universal 
source  of  ground-water  supply.  This  loose, 
porous  rock  material  (so  loose  that  it  may 
be  picked  and  shoveled  anywhere)  contains 
an  enormous  amount  of  water  gathered  from 
the  rains  of  summer  and  the  melting  snows 
of  winter.  This  water,  filling  every  space 
between  the  rock  fragments  both  coarse 
and  fine,  is  from  its  situation  called  ground 


water.  It  furnishes  an  enormous  water 
supply  for  the  maintenance  of  numerous 
springs  and  for  all  the  wells  people  dig, 
drill,  or  drive  into  it.  The  sources  of  the 
rivers  can  be  traced  to  this  supply. 

The  ground  waters  seep  down  into  the 
earth  below  the  surface  rocks  until  they 
saturate  successive  underlying  formations. 
If  the  rocks  are  porous  enough  to  allow  the 
water  to  flow  between  the  grains  with  some 
degree  of  freedom,  a  copious  well  is  assured. 
Loose  and  porous 
formations  like  sand- 
stones contain  a  large 
supply  of  water. 
From  five  to  fifteen 
per  cent  of  clear, 
wholesome  water  is  no 
unusual  proportion  to 
be  carried  in  these 
porous  rocks.  Thus 
sufficient  quantities  of 
underground  water 
are  available  for  some 
communities. 

Wells  which  flow 
with  more  or  less 
force,  owing  to  the 
pressure  of  the  head- 
water, are  known  as 
artesian  wells.  When 
many  artesian  wells 
occur  in  the  same 
neighborhood,  they 
prove  the  presence  under  like  conditions 
of  a  large  amount  of  tmderground  water 
within  a  certain  area.  This  area  is  called 
an  artesian  basin.  Scores  of  these  arte- 
sian basins,  some  small  and  some  large, 
some  drawing  from  shallow  and  some  from 
deep  water  supplies,  are  scattered  over  the 
state.  As  population  increases,  the  water 
in  the  shallow  wells  becomes  polluted  with 
decaying  organic  matter  and  is  thus  unfitted 
for   use.     Therefore,    every   town    and    city 


Aiap    sho'ujing    ai^rage    annual    Unip^raturc 
from    i8g7   to    igog. 


i8 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


should  be  alert  to  understand  and  control 
its  water  supply,  since  so  much  of  health 
and  prosperity  depends  on  good  water. 
Where  the  surface  waters  become  polluted, 
drilling  deeper  will 
usually  secure  a  pure 
supply  from  an  under- 
ground water-bearing 
formation. 

Ground  waters  are 
nearly  always  hard, 
that  is,  they  carry 
so  much  dissolved 
mineral  material  that 
they  have  a  peculiar 
taste  and  in  the 
laundry  require  much 
soap.  They  also  form 
a  scale  in  boilers, 
and  thus  are  very 
troublesome  to  engi- 
neers. Springs,  the 
waters  of  which  con- 
tain mineral  content 
producing  a  medicinal 
effect,  are  called  min- 
eral springs.  A  num- 
ber of  these  springs  occur  in  Minnesota, 
those  at  Owatonna,  Shakopee,  and  Sacred 
Heart  being  among  the  best  known. 

Climate.  The  climate  of  Minnesota  is  con- 
tinental. The  state  lies  in  the  path  of  the 
cyclones  as  they  move  from  west  to  east.  It 
is  calculated  that  more  than  sixty  per  cent 


_  Average 


of  the  cyclonic  areas  crossing  the  continent 
pass  over  the  state  of  Minnesota.  This  pro- 
duces a  prevailing  westerly  wind  and  a  rain- 
fall usually  coming  from  the  northeast.  The 
northwesterly  winds 
occurring  as  the 
cyclones  pass  to  the 
eastward  give  a 
remarkably  whole- 
some and  cooling 
effect  to  the  air  dur- 
ing the  weeks  of  the 
summer  season  and 
a  corresponding  cold 
wave  or  blizzard  in 
winter.     (Fig.  12.) 

April  is  the  month 
of  springtime  activity 
among  the  Minnesota 
farmers,  though  the 
sowing  of  the  crops 
extends  into  May  in 
the  northern  part  of 
the  state.  However, 
no  definite  week  can 
be  named  for  the  clos- 
ing of  the  springtime 
work  or  for  the  close  of  the  growing  season. 
This  latter  event  is  associated  with  August 
or  early  September  under  usual  weather 
conditions.  The  crops  are  sometimes  endan- 
gered by  early  and  late  frosts. 

Owing  to  the  size  of  the  state,  the  amount 
of  rainfall  reported  from  different  sections 
varies  in  quantity.  (Figs.  13  and  14.)  In 
the  southeastern  quarter  the  average  annual 


Map   showing   average   annual   rainfall 
from  -iSgj  to   igog. 


Average  ss  SQ 


Average 


WISNEBAOO  FERGUS  FALLS  HALLOCK 

Fig.   14.     The  average  annual  rainfall  at  Winnebago,  Fergus  Falls,  and  Hallock,  from  igoo  to  igio. 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


19 


4X    IHRln^^H 


rainfall  is  about  29.9  inches; 
in  the  northeastern  quarter 
30  inches;  in  the  south- 
western, 27.2  inches,  while  in 
the  northwestern  corner  it 
scarcely  exceeds  20  inches. 
However,  in  the  section  last 
named,  owing  to  diminished 
evaporation  through  the 
shorter  and  cooler  summer 
and  to  the  retentive  quality  of 
the  soil,  the  supply  is  suffi- 
cient to  mature  the  crops  and 
to  insure  the  farmer  a  steady 

and   constant  return  for  his 

,   ,  _,,  ^  ,,      ^  -,.  Fig.  15.     Norway 

labor,      i  he  snowfall  of  Min-  0/  Lake 

nesota  is  less  than  that  of  many  other  parts 
of  the  United  States,  due  to  the  small  pre- 
cipitation during  the  months  of  December, 
Januar}^  and  February.  For  these  months 
the  average  temperature  is  12.9  degrees  and 
snow  is  to  be  expected,  but  for  the  past 
fourteen  years  the  precipitation  has  been  so 
small  that  the  average 
over  the  entire  state 
is  only  seven-tenths 
(.7)  of  an  inch  each 
month.  Hence  drift- 
ing snows  are  far  less  a 
hindrance  to  business 
in  Minnesota  than  in 
states  farther  east 
and  south,  where  the 
amount  of  melted 
snow  per  month  meas- 
ures several  inches. 

Vegetation.  When 
Minnesota  was  first 
settled,  it  comprised 
about  54,000  square 
miles  of  forest  and 
32,000  square  miles 
of  prairie.  The  for- 
ested area  was  in  the 
northern  and  central 


pine  on  the  shore 
Itasca. 


Map  showing 
and  military 


portions,  reaching  southward 
into  Blue  Earth  County.  The 
prairies  occupied  the  southern 
and  southwestern  sections  of 
the  state,  stretching  north- 
ward along  the  Red  River 
Valley  into  Manitoba.  The 
forests,  while  largely  of  mixed 
hard-wood  and  soft-wood  tim- 
ber, contained,  in  the  region 
lying  around  the  headwaters 
of  the  St.  Croix  and  Missis- 
sippi rivers,  large  tracts  of 
magnificent  white  and  Nor- 
way pine.  (Fig.  15.)  Along 
the  morainic  ridges,  which 
constitute  an  important  feature  of  central 
Minnesota,  stood  magnificent  groves  of  that 
stateliest  conifer  of  eastern  North  America, 
the  white  pine. 

Since  territorial  days  the  cutting  of  pine 
forests  has  been  an  important  industry  of 
the  state.  (Frontispiece.)  Indeed,  the  state 
was  explored  and  its 
development  begun 
by  the  lumbermen  of 
the  St.  Croix  and  Mis- 
sissippi valleys. 
In  addition  to  the 
pines  already  named, 
the  most  valuable 
timber  trees  are  bal- 
sam, tamarack,  and 
spruce  (Fig.  9)  among 
the  cone-bearers ;  and 
elm,  walnut,  oak  in 
several  species,  ash, 
birch,  poplar,  cotton- 
wood,  box  elder,  wil- 
low, and  other  of  the 
leaf-shedding  species. 
Increasing  interest  is 
shown  among  the 
owners  of  forest  lands 
in    the    eftorts    being 


Forest  Reserves,  Indian 
reservations. 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


made  to  conserve  in  all  ways 
the  timber  supply  of  the  state. 
(Fig.  1 6.) 

The  prairies,  because  of  the 
ease  and  rapidity  with  which 
they  may  be  broken  and 
brought  under  cultivation, 
have  shown  the  greatest  gain 
in  population  and  the  most 
rapid  development  in  agricul- 
ture. The  soil  over  much  of 
southern  Minnesota  is  remark- 
ably rich  and  productive,  and 
farmers  have  grown  crops  on 
the  same  land  for  many  years 
without  having  need  of  a  fer- 
tilizer. 

Animals.  In  the  early  his- 
tory of  Minnesota  the  buffalo  was  king  of 
the  prairies.  Hunting  this  animal  over  the 
rolUng    grass   land   was    most    exhilarating 


Fig.  i; 


M' 

1 

v,v,  xl^;;-^^^ 

sA^4' 

..^r 

^  *P^''0l^^0J^^i 

WK^ 

gw^fi- 

fei^m 

^ 

^P^^^^i 

f^^^^^i^}^B^'%  iQ'F^n 

^rail^' 

^^^J^ 

iftJ 

other  fur-bearing  animals  in 
such  great  numbers  that  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  was 
led  to  consider  this  region  an 
important  part  of  its  fur- 
trading  territory.  Among 
birds  for  food  the  prairies 
afforded  the  prairie  chicken 
and  the  forests  the  partridge, 
while  the  lakes  and  sloughs 
were  the  feeding  ground  for 
immense  nimibers  of  migra- 
tory ducks  and  geese.  The 
streams  and  lakes  still  abound 
in  the  choicest  species  of  fresh- 
water fishes. 

Agriculture.  Dating  from 
the  earliest  settlement  in  the 
southeastern  counties,  Minnesota  has  been 
essentially  an  agricultural  state.  (Fig.  39.) 
In  the  southern  prairie  region  of  the 
commonwealth  no  other  occupation  could 
be  followed.     In  the   central  and  northern 


Fig.    18.         U^ni:      !■.:.,   ,       ,;;    ,■,•;■;,';    ,,    ,-     ,::/.■ 

sport.  An  early  explorer  sent  out  by  the 
Government  to  discover  possible  valuable 
resources  in  this  part  of  its  Louisiana  Pur- 
chase (Fig.  36),  reported  the  region  to  be 
unfit  for  agriculture  and  suitable  only  for  an 
Indian  reservation  and  buffalo  hunting  for 
gentlemen. 

The  forests  yielded  deer  and  caribou,  two 
wild  animals  unexcelled  for  food,  and  beaver, 
mink,  sable,  fox,  wolf,  wild  cat,  lynx,  and 


Fig.  19.     The  value  of  farm  products  per  square  mite 
census  of  igoo. 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


portions,  lumber- 
ing was  the  first 
industry  of  any 
importance ;  but 
agriculture  has 
followed  steadily 
the  removal 
of  the  forests. 
In  the  northwest 
the  great  Red 
River  Valley 
practically  has 
become  one  vast 
wheat  field   into 

which,  during  the  period  from  1870  to  1900, 
people  trailed  in  immense  numbers. 

The  first  crop  of  the  southern  farmer  was 
wheat.  Experience,  however,  has* proved 
that  varieties  of  com  developed  here  yield 
approximately  as  many  bushels  per  acre  as 
are  produced  in  the  warmer  climate  of  the 
great  com  belts  of  Missouri  and  Iowa. 


Fig 


.4  licrd  of  dairy  cows. 

in  the  value  of 


.     1 

R^v^ 

Fig.  21.     A  cooperative  creamery  at  Litchfield.     This  is 
one  of  the  most  successful  creameries  in  the  state. 

Following  the  com  came  the  dairy  indus- 
try. Where  at  one  time  agricultural  exports 
centered  at  wheat  elevators,  the  creamery 
and  the  butter  factory  have  now  become  the 
centers  of  greatest  production  of  wealth. 
(Fig.  21.)  The  abtmdance  of  rich  forage 
grasses  affords  the  best  of  food  for  dairy 
herds  and  for  cattle  and  horses,  while  the 
com  fattens  a  constantly  increasing  number 
of  cattle  and  hogs.    (Figs.  17  and  18.)     Oats 


(Fig.  23),  barley, 
flax,  and  garden 
products  are  also 
profitably  grown. 
Fruit  raising 
has  become  an 
important  indus- 
try in  the  state. 
B  oth  blackberries 
and  raspberries 
flourish  along  the 
flood  plain  of 
the  Mississippi 
River.  No  finer 
strawberries  reach  the  markets  of  the  Cen- 
tral West  than  those  grown  in  Minnesota. 
The  eastern  part  of  the  state  especially  is 
famous  for  the  excellence  of  its  berries. 


In  iQoo- Minnesota  rdiiL-id 
dairy  products. 


")o-.. 

iSSj.. 
JS77.. 
JS07..\, 

Fig.  22.     The  wheat  crop  of  Minnesota  for  five  decades, 
1867-igoj,  and  for  IQ08,  in  millions  of  bushels. 

From  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Minnetonka 
(Fig.  8)  grapes  are  shipped  which  rival 
those  of  the  famous  vineyards  of  New  York 
and  Ohio.     Here  the  lake  so  tempers   the 


Fig.  23.    A  field  of  oats  in  the  lake  district  of  Minnesota. 

Notice  the  iieigiit  of  the  oats  as  compared  with 

that  of  tiie  man  and  ilte  horse. 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


climate  that  autumn 
frosts  occur  about  two 
weeks  later  than  in 
the  district  along  the 
north  shore,  only  two 
or  three  miles  distant. 
On  the  sand  plains  of 
the  central  part  of  the 
state  along  the  Missis- 
sippi are  raised  some 

of     the     finest    melons       F'G-  24-     yi'-'w  of  a  quarry 

grown  in  the  West.  Wild  plums  flourish  in 
fruitful  groves  in  the  Minnesota  River  Valley, 
an  evidence  that  by  nature  the  state  is  well 
fitted  for  the  production  of  fine  fruits. 

The  soil  of  the  state  is  of  such  recent  origin 
and  has  as  yet  been  so  little  worked  that  it 
is  still  fresh  and  fertile;  so  fertile,  indeed, 
that  for  years  the  farmers  could  grow  suc- 
cessive crops  on  the  same  ground  without 
thought  of  exhausting  its  resources. 

In  the  beginning  the  Minnesota  farmers 
planted  those  crops  that  could  be  sent  to 
market  with  the  least  danger  of  injury  or 
loss  through  transportation.  Wheat  has  a 
greater  value  per  bushel  than  any  other 
grain.  The  farmer  realized  nearly  twice  as 
much  per  pound  for  wheat  as  for  barley, 
oats,  or  corn.  Naturally,  therefore,  wheat 
became  the  staple  crop.     (Fig.  22.) 

Stock  raising  and  dairying  (Fig.  20), 
through  the  steadily  increasing  number  of 
markets  due  to  the  centering  of  the  people 
in  towns,  have  made  continuous  progress. 
The  butter  and  cheese   of  Minnesota   have 


repeatedly  taken  first 
prizes  in  interstate 
competitions. 

Minnesota  compares 
well  with  the  other 
states  of  the  Union 
in  value  of  agricul- 
tural products  (Fig. 
ig),  in  production  per 
capita,  in  the  thrift  of 

and  plant  near  i\cw  Ulm.       ftS   people,  and   in   the 

steady  advancement  of  its  rural  population 
in  wealth  and  culture.  (Part  III,  Table,  p.  40.) 

Quarrying.  Minnesota  is  the  center  of 
extensive  quarrying  industries.  Many  kinds 
of  rocks  are  used,  including  granite,  gneiss, 
sandstone,  quartzite,  limestone,  dolomite, 
diabase,  and  gabbro.  All  are  rocks  of  great 
age,  geologically.  The  diabase  and  gabbro 
tell  us  of  volcanoes  more  extensive  than 
are  Vesuvius  and  Matma  Loa.  The  granitic 
rocks  were  already  old  when  the  volcanoes 
were  active,  and  the  sandstone  was  laid 
down  upon  the  lava  beds  as  a  sandy  shore, 
like  that  of  New  Jersey  to-day. 

Thus  far  the  principal  localities  profitable 
as  quarry  grounds  for  sandstone  are  the  town 
of  Sandstone  and  Fond  du  Lac,  a  suburb  of 
Duluth.  Quartzite  comes  from  Courtland, 
near  New  Ulm  (Fig.  24),  Pipestone,  Jasper, 
and  Luverne.  Limestone,  chiefly  for  domestic 
use,  is  quarried  extensively  at  Minneapolis 
and  St.  Paul.  Mantorville  also  yields  con- 
siderable quantities.  Extensive  dolomite 
quarries  are  situated  at  Kasota,  Mankato, 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


Copyright,  1905,  by  Well»n*B.  Cimctiall  ft  Co.    Pulmh,  JHon. 

Fig.  26.     Type  of  steam  shovel  used  in  mining  ore. 

Frontenac,  Red  Wing,  Stillwater,  and  Winona. 
Gneissic  rocks  (Fig.  ii)  occur  in  the  valley  of 
the  Minnesota  between  New  Ulm  and  Orton- 
ville.  Granite  is  found  in  Stearns  County, 
where  it  is  quarried  extensively,  and  in 
Sherburne,  Benton,  Morrison,  and  Kanabec 
counties.  It  has  also  been  quarried  in 
St.  Louis  County.  Minnesota  ranks  among 
the  thirteen  states  with  a  yearly  product 
of  more  than  $500,000.  Slate  occurs  at  Carl- 
ton and  Thomson,  a  few  miles  from  Duluth. 


'^Htea 


The  remarkable  freshness  of  the  rocks  in 
all  portions  of  the  state,  due  to  extensive 
glacial  erosion,  makes  quarrying  compara- 
tively easy.  This  is  so  because,  through 
glacial  action,  a  great  work — the  removing 
of  weathered  and  decomposed  material,  or 
"stripping  the  quarry" — was  done. 

Mining.  The  great  mineral  product  of  the 
state  is  iron  ore.  (Part  III,  Table,  p.  41.)  This 
occurs  in  such  quantities  and  is  of  such  quality 
as  to  place  the  state  first  in  rank  among  the 


Fig.  28. 


A  present-day  view  of  the  Falls  of 
St.  Anthony. 


The  value  of  tnanujactured  products  per 
square  mile,  census  of  igoo. 


iron-producing  regions  of  the  world.  Thirty 
million  tons  of  ore  are  sent  yearly  to  Pitts- 
^biirg  and  the  great  iron-making  cities  of  the 
lower  lakes,  chief  among  which  are  Chicago, 
Cleveland,  and  Erie.  The  product  of  the 
Mesabi  Range  alone  is  about  twenty-eight 
million  tons  and  that  of  the  Vermilion 
Range  nearly  two  million  tons.  The  ore  is 
the  common  iron  oxide,  red  hematite. 

Two  well-defined  varieties  of  ore  are  pro- 
duced: (1)  the  Vermilion  ores,  hard  and 
crystalline,  having  a  bright  black  color  and 
occurring  at  a  considerable  depth  in  the 
earth:  (2)  the  Mesabi,  an  iron  ore  ranging 
from  red  to  yellow  in  color  and  compara- 
tively soft.  This  ore  lies  just  under  the 
glacial  drift  and  from  fiive  to  fifty  feet 
beneath  the  surface.     (Fig.   25.) 

The  ore  bodies  vary  in  thickness  from 
one  foot  to  250  feet.     Their  situation  is  so 


24 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OP  MINNESOTA 


Fig.  29.     Avenue  of  skidways  on  Pine  Island,  with  logs 

equaling  over  a  million  and  a  half  board  feet,  cut  from 

a  little  more  than  the  cut-over  area  in  sight.     Pine 

Island  is  said  to  be  the  greatest  logging  camp  in 

the  United  States  operated  by  horse  power. 

advantageous  that  the  removal  of  the  few 
feet  of  drift  above  an  ore  body  is  all  the 
stripping  required  to  expose  a  mass  of  ore, 
which,  after  being  loosened  with  a  charge 
or  two  of  dynamite,  is  mined  with  a  steam 
shovel  (Fig.  26)  and  yields  in  an  hour  or  two 
enough  to  load  a  train  of  cars. 

There  is  much  interest  as  to  the  probable 
amount  of  ore  deposited.  It  lies  in  large 
bodies,  millions  of  tons  in  quantity,  located 
in  well-defined  troughs  or  depressions  slightly 
below  the  level  of  the  adjacent  ground. 
These  ore  bodies  have  been  discovered  in  a 
chain  of  deposits  from  the  east  end  of  the 
Mesabi  Range  westward  beyond  the  Missis- 
sippi River.  A  conservative  estimate  places 
the  amount  known  to  exist  as  not  less  than 


2,000,000,000  tons  of  high-grade  ore,  besides 
untold  millions  of  tons  too  poor  for  present 
methods  of  treatment. 

Manufactures.  The  rise  of  manufactures 
has  been  necessarily  brief.  One  of  the 
earliest  mills  in  the  state  was  built  on  the 
Vermilion  River  at  Hastings.  The  ruins  still 
stand  and  are  known  as  the  "old  Ramsey 
mill"  because,  it  is  said,  Alexander  Ramsey, 
one  of  the  early  governors,  was  interested  m 
the  building  and  rvmning  of  it. 

The  first  mill  for  grinding  grain  located 
at  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  was  completed 
and  operated  in  1821,  when  Fort  Snelling 
was  first  laid  out  and  occupied  by  the  United 
States  Government  as  the  military  post  of 
the  Northwest.    From  this  beginning  through 


.     Steam  hauler  transporting  forty-nine 
cords  of  wood  over  an  ice  road. 


Fig.  31.     The  lo 

lumber  mill  c 

of 


/  Minneapolis,  where  the 
:uto  lumber  at  the  rate 
Ulii'it  jcct  per  day. 


the  water  power  of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony 
(Fig. '2  8),  a  large  manufacturing  center  has 
developed.  (Fig.  32.)  In  1909  the  value  of 
the  output  of  this  industrial  center  exceeded 
$157,000,000.   (Part  III,  Tables,  p.  41.) 

Lumbering  has  been  a  leading  industry 
in  Minnesota  for  forty  years.  At  present 
the  lumber  industry  is  giving  place  to  the 
more  varied  agricultural  pursuits.  The  value 
of  the  lumber  product  of  the  state  is  now 
more  than  $250,000,000  per  year.  (Figs.  29, 
30,  and  31.) 

Harnessing  the  St.  Louis  River  at  Carlton, 
four  hundred  feet  above  the  city  of  Duluth, 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


laid  the  founda- 
tion for  a  manu- 
facturing center 
at  Duluth,  the 
possibilities  of 
which  are  exceed- 
ingly great.  All 
the  smaller  cities 
are  establishing 
manufactories  in 
order  to  convert 
the  local  products 


Fig.  32 


into  the  most  compact  form  for  commercial 
distribution,  and  to  prepare  for  home  con- 
sumption all  the  necessaries  and  luxuries  of 
modem  life  without  the  expense  or  delay 
incident  to  shipping  and  handling.  (Fig.  27.) 
Commerce.  The  commercial  development 
of  the  state  has  come  about  chiefly  through 
the  development  of  the  railway  systems  of 
the  Northwest.  St.  Paul,  the  capital,  and 
Minneapolis,  the  center  of  manufactures, 
standing  only  ten  miles  apart,  together  form 
the  great  commercial  center  of  the  entire 
Upper  Mississippi  Valley.  Railways  converge 
here,  bringing  materials  for  consumption, 
distributing  the  accumulated  stock  of  manu- 
factories, and  caring  for  the  extensive 
passenger  traffic  ,  growing  out  of  a  great 
political    and    industrial   center. 


Fig.  33.    Scene  on  the  Mississippi  at  Gray  Cloud  Island, 
showing  the  wing  dams  built  to  maintain  navigation. 


These  railways, 
radiating  in  all 
directions  across 
the  prairies  and 
through  the  for- 
ests of  Minnesota, 
are  parts  of  great 
transcontinental 
systems  reaching 
from  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  to  the 
Pacific.  Their 
length  and  their  L'tliciency  for  commerce  and 
travel  are  continually  being  increased.  (Fig. 
34.)  Based  upon  the  earnings  within  Min- 
nesota alone,  the  tax  upon  the  gross  earnings 
of  the  railways  and  other  public  service 
corporations  amounts  approximately  to 
$3,500,000  a  year.     (Part  III,  Table,  p.  40.) 


igog.. 
igoS . 
i<P5-- 
iqoo  . 
jSi)o- 
jSSo. 
jSyo. 

Fig.  34.     The  railroad  mileage  of  Minnesota  for  each 

ten  years  from  j8yo  to  ipoo,  and  for  the  years  J905, 

igo8,  and  igog,  in  thousands  of  miles. 

In  the  Mississippi  Valley  transportation  by 
water  has  not  advanced  greatly  during  the 
last  fifteen  years,  and  the  tonnage  from 
Minnesota  southward  to  St.  Louis  and  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  has  decreased.  In  recent 
years  the  improvement  of  the  waterways 
of  the  country  is  receiving  increasing  atten- 
tion. It  is  believed  that,  with  the  devel- 
opment of  the  waterways  throughout  the 
country,  the  transportation  of  products  by 
water  will  increase  until  the  utilization  of 
the  Mississippi  by  steamboats  will  again 
command  an  important  place  in  the  com- 
mercial affairs  of  the  continent.     (Fig.  33.) 

Duluth,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  is 
the  principal  port  of  the  Great  Lakes.     Its 


26 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


commerce  is  extending  at  a 
rapid  rate.  Already  its  ton- 
nage entitles  it  to  rank  as  the 
second  port  in  the  United 
States.  Iron  ore,  wheat,  bar- 
ley, oats,  com,  linseed  oil,  and 
lumber  are  the  leading  prod- 
ucts, millions  of  tons  being 
shipped  yearly  from  Duluth 
through  the  Soo  Canal  to  the 
lower  lake  cities  for  domestic 
consumption,  and  to  New  York 
and  Quebec  for  export.  The 
increase  in  the  commerce  of 
Duluth  and  the  neighboring 
ports,  Superior  and  Two  Har- 
bors, has  been  phenomenal. 

This  growth  can  be  attrib- 
uted first  of  all  to  the  discovery  of  the  Ver- 
milion and  Mesabi  iron  ranges,  but  it  is  also 
due  to  the  vast  pine  forests  of  northern  Min- 
nesota, and  to  cheap  lake  transportation  from 
the  grain  fields  and  cattle  ranches  of  the  Red 
River  Valley  and  the  plains  to  the  markets 
of  the  world. 

Early  History.  On 
receiving  the  great 
Northwest  Territory 
from  France  in  1763, 
the  British  Govern- 
ment sent  Captain 
Jonathan  Car\'er  to 
explore  and  report 
upon  the  region.  In 
1766  Carver  (Fig.  36) 
ascended  the  Missis- 
sippi River  to  the 
mouth  of  the  St. 
Francis,  where  Elk 
River  now  stands. 
Returning  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Minne- 
sota River,  he  pushed 
his  canoe  up  that 
stream  to  the  Cotton- 


FiG-  ,35.     General  Zebulon  Mont- 
gomery Pike,  soldier  and  explorer 


Fig.  36.     An  historical  map  of  Minnesota 


wood,  and  wintered  on  the  site 
now  occupied  by  New  Ulm. 

In  1803  Louisiana  became  a 
part  of  the  United  States.  Two 
years  later  the  Government  at 
Washington  sent  out  Lewis 
and  Clark  to  explore  the  vast 
region  of  northern  Louisiana, 
and  Lieutenant  Zebulon  Pike 
(Fig.  35)  to  find  the  source  of 
the  Mississippi.  Although  this 
was  more  than  twenty  years 
after  the  treaty  of  peace  had 
been  signed  closing  the  Revo- 
lutionary War,  Pike  found  the 
English  flag  flying  over  trading 
posts  along  the  Mississippi. 
Lieutenant  Pike  wintered 
at  Pike  Rapids,  and  in  the  next  season 
pushed  forward  to  Cass  Lake,  then  called 
Red  Cedar  Lake.  (Fig.  36.)  On  account 
of  a  shortage  of  provisions,  he  was  forced 
to  return  to  St.  Louis,  then  as  now  the 
emporium    of    the    Mississippi  Valley. 

In  181 7  the  United 
States,  in  order  that 
the  lumber  region 
of  the  St.  Croix  and 
theUpperMississippi 
tnight  be  made  ac- 
cessible, undertook  a 
series  of  treaties  with 
the  Indians  occupying 
this  territor\\ 

Three  years  later 
(1820),  General  Cass, 
at  that  time  Governor 
of  the  Territory  of 
Michigan,  which  then 
included  all  of  Mirme- 
sota  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River,  began 
a  series  of  explora- 
tions that  he  might 
become  acquainted 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


27 


with  the  geography 
and  resources  of  his 
entire  territory. 
These  explorations 
resulted,  in  1832,  in 
the  discover}''  of  Lake 
Itasca  by  that 
intrepid  explorer, 
successful  trader,  and 
student  of  Indian 
character,  Henry  R. 
Schoolcraft.  (Fig.  36.) 
This  discovery  made 
definite  certain  politi- 
cal factors  pertaining  to  the  relations  of 
Louisiana  and  Michigan,  and  also  the  inter- 
national relations  of  the  United  States  and 
the  United  Kingdom. 

These  discoveries,  with  the  treaties  set  on 
foot  by  Major  Long  in  181 7,  opened  the 
country  to   lumbermen   and   to  traders,  so 


Fig.  37. 


An  old  Indian  grave  on  the  bank  of 

Leech  Lake. 


jgoj 

jqoo. 
jSt)0. 
jSSo. 
JS70. 
jSx). 
jSjo 


Fig.  38.  Tlie  poptdaiion  of  Min- 
nesota in  tens  of  thousands  and 
the  density  oj  population  per 
square  mile  at  each  Federal  census 
and  at  the  state  census,  igo^- 

that  outside  of  Mendota  the  great  forests  of 
eastern  and  central  Minnesota  became  the 
region  of  first  settlement.  The  village  of 
Mendota  was  an  outlier  of  Fort  Snelling,  the 
military  post  established  at  that  strategic 
point,  the  confluence  of  the  Minnesota  and 
Mississippi  rivers.  It  was  named  in  honor 
of  the  first  commandant  of  the  fort. 

During  1851  the  lumber  interests  of  the 
Mississippi,  St.  Croix,  and  tributary  streams 
developed  rapidly.  In  that  year,  and  between 
185 1  and  1877,  treaties  with  the  Sioux  Indians 
brought  35,000,000  acres  under  the  control 
of  the  United  States  and  150,000  people  to 
the  prairie  farms  of  southern  jMinnesota. 


The  history  of 
]\Iinnesota  before  the 
advent  of  the  white 
man  is  wrapped  in 
obscurity.  Mounds 
built  by  its  earlier 
inhabitants  prove 
that  a  large  popiola- 
tion  occupied  the  land. 
In  the  north,  ancient 
diggings  for  copper 
and  red  oxide  of  iron, 
and  chips  of  quartz  in 
the  earth  around  what 
were  apparently  the  workshops  of  prehistoric 
peoples,  demonstrate  that  their  industries 
were  extensive.  From  the  ]\Iississippi  to  Lake 
Superior,  along  several  canoe  routes  between 
these  two  regions,  old  routes  of  travel  have 
been  traced,  also  demonstrating  that  migra- 
tions for  war,  for  digging  copper,  and  for 
fishing  or  hunting  were  regularly  luidertaken. 
(Fig.  37.)  These  routes  continued  as  thorough- 
fares of  travel  long  after  the  white  man 
came  to  the  region. 

The  first  white  men  in  Minnesota  were  two 
Frenchmen,  Groseilliers  and  Radisson,  who, 
in  1655  (Fig.  36),  lived  on  Prairie  Island,  a 
high  piece  of  fertile  ground  in  the  river 
bottoms  between  Hastings  and  Red  Wing. 

10      20     30       ,)0     so      60      70      So      qo     100 


Alt  occupatictis . 


Agriculture . 
Domestic  and 

Manufactures  and 


I  I  I  I 


1  I  I  I 


and 


Fig.  39.  Proportion  of  persons  in 

Minnesota  engaged  in  each  of 

the  leading  occupations, 

census  of  jqoo. 

Later,  in  1679,  a  fort  was  established  on 
the  north  shore  of  Lake  Superior  in  what 
is  now  Minnesota  by  the  Sieur  du  Luth,  a 
Frenchman.     (Fig.  36.) 

One  year  later,  in  1680,  occurred  the 
discovery  of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  by 
Father  Hennepin,  a  French  missionary.     On 


28 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


Fig.  40.     The  capital  at  St.  Paul. 

account  of  their  remarkable  beauty  and 
grandeur  he  named  the  falls  after  his  patron 
saint,  Anthony  of  Padua.  The  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  chartered  ten  years  before  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony  were  discovered,  long 
continued  to  push  its  work  of  buying  furs 
and  selling  gaudy  cloths  and  tobacco  to  the 


Total  population 
Native  to  state- 
Wisconsin 

New  Yori 

Iowa   

Illinois 

.Michigan 

Ohio. 

All  other  states. 


Oo     70      So     go  100 


Fig.  41.     State  of  birth  of  the 

native-born  population  of 

Minnesota,  census 

of  igo5. 


Indians  of  that  vast  northwest  region  of  which 
Minnesota  formed  but  a  small  part. 

The  People.  Minnesota  dates  its  official 
career  as  a  commonwealth  from  May  11, 
1858.  At  the  time  it  entered  the  Union  about 
2,400  Indians  were  enumerated  in  the  total 
population  of  approximately  150,000.  Since 
then  the  Indians  have  advanced  but  slightly 
if  at  all  in  numbers,  although  the  population 
as  a  whole  has  increased  from  150,000  to 
more  than  2,000,000,  the  Federal  census  of 
1910  showing  a  total  of  2,075,708. 

The  most  rapid  increase  in  population 
has  been  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state. 
This  has  been  due  to  the  agricultural  re- 
sources of  the  Red  River  Valley,  the  great 


lumbering  interests  around  the  headwaters 
of  the  Mississippi  and  St.  Louis  rivers,  and 
the  opening  of  the  iron  mines  of  St.  Louis 
County.  (Fig.  39.)  Evidence  of  this  is  seen 
in  the  fact  that  from  1895  to  1905  in  the 
counties  of  Carlton,  Kanabec,  Lake,  Itasca, 
Roseau,  Cass,  Cook,  Hubbard,  Beltrami, 
and  Cleanvater,  the  increase  in  population 


ForeigH.born  p^pttlatian 
Scandinavian  countries 

!>•> ^^^~"" 

Fig.  42.     Proportion  of  for- 

ByitiAEmfxTt ^^  j       gign-bom  from  each  of  the 

Ml  other  countries ^^  (      leading  countries  of  Europe , 

census  of  igo§. 

was  more  than  100  per  cent.  Migration 
within  the  United  States  Mas  contributed 
most  of  the  people,  who  came  largely  from 
New  England  and  the  more  northern  states 
westward  to  the  Great  Lakes  region.  (Fig.41.) 
The  foreign-bom  population  of  Minnesota 
numbered  537,041,  a  little  more  than  one- 
fourth  of  all  the  people  in  the  state.    (Fig.  42.) 


The  Congressional  districts  of  Minnesota. 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


Government.  Minnesota  is  known  as  the 
state  of  ^linnesota.  Its  constitution  was 
adopted  October  13,  1857.  The  state  is 
represented  in  Congress  by  two  Senators, 
elected  by  the  Legislature,  and  nine  Repre- 
sentatives, elected  by  the  people  in  as  many 
separate  Congressional  districts.      (Fig.  43.) 

The  Legislature, 
which  meets  in  the 
Capitol  at  St.  Paul 
(Fig.  40),  consists  of 
sixty-three  Senators, 
over  whom  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor pre- 
sides, when  the  Senate 
is  in  session,  and  a 
House  of  Representa- 
tives consisting  of  1 1 9 
members,  who  elect 
their  own  Speaker. 

The  affairs  of  the 
state  are  administered 
by  a  Governor,  a 
Secretary  of  State,  an 
Auditor,  a  Treasurer, 
an  Attorney-General,  a 
State  Superintendent 
of  PubUc  Instruction, 
a  State  Board  of 
Control,  and  also  the  commissioners,  super- 
intendents, and  directors  of  the  various 
subdivisions  of  state  administration.  The 
judicial  department  consists  of  a  Supreme 
Cotirt,  composed  of  one  justice  and  four 
associate  justices,  elected  by  the  people 
for  a  term  of  six  years.  The  minor  court 
system  consists  of  nineteen  Judicial  districts 


presided  over  by  from  one  to  seven  judges, 
and  the  JMunicipal  courts  maintained  by  the 
larger  cities  and  towns.  Details  of  state 
government  are  left  to  the  eighty-six 
counties,  each  consisting  of  townships  and 
incorporated  villages  and  cities.  Each  of 
these  counties  is  presided  over  by  an  auditor, 
a   treasurer,    a   board 


of  commissioners, 
a  superintendent  of 
schools,  with  such 
additional  officers  as 
occasion  may  require. 
Education."  When 
Minnesota  was  organ- 
ized into  a  territory 
in  1849  three  private 
schools,  located  at  St. 
Anthony,  St.  Paul, 
and  Stillwater,  were 
all  the  educational 
institutions  in  the 
region.  The  present 
state  school  system 
comprises  a  group 
of  common  schools 
divided  into  more 
than  5,000  districts, 
presided  over  by 
eighty-six  county  superintendents;  206  high 
schools;  five  normal  schools,  and  the  State 
University.  In  addition  many  academies, 
colleges,  and  universities  are  maintained  by 
religious  denominations.      (Fig.  44.) 

The  University  of  Minnesota  was  organ- 
ized under  the  territorial  constitution.  At 
present  it  consists  of   sixteen  schools   and 


THE    LEADIXG    EDUCATIONAL    INSTITUTIONS    OF    MINNESOTA 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES 

1  Albert  Lea  College,  Presb.,  Albert  Lea. 

2  St.  Johns  University.  R.  C,  CoUegeville. 

3  Augsburg  Seminary,   Luth..  Minneapolis. 

4  University  of  Minnesota,    State,    Minne- 

apolis. 

5  Windom  Institute.  Cong.,  Montevideo. 

6  Carleton  College,  Cong.,  Northfield. 

7  St.  Olaf  College,  Luth.,  Northfield. 

8  Pillsbury  Academy,  Bapt.,  Owatonna. 


9  College  o(  St.  Thomas,  R.  C,  St.  Paul. 

10  Hamline  University,  M.  E.,  St.  Paul. 

1 1  Macalester  College,  Presb.,  St.  Paul. 

12  State  University,  College  of  Agriculture, 

Experimental      Station      and      Farm, 
State,  St.  Anthony  Park,  St.  Paul. 

13  United     Church     Seminary,     Luth..     St. 

Anthonv  Park,  St.  Paul. 

14  Gustavus    Adolphus    College,    Luth.,    St. 

Peter. 

15  Parker  College.  Free  Bapt..  Winnebago. 


PUBLIC  NORMAL  SCHOOLS 

16  First  State  Normal  School,  Winona. 

17  Second  State  Normal  School,  Mankato. 
iS  Third  State  Normal  School,  St.  Cloud. 

19  Fourth  State  Normal  School.  Moorhead 

20  Fifth  State  Normal  School.  Duluth. 

21  Teachers'  Training  School,  St.  Paul. 


30 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


Fig.  45.     .4  clas^^  ,-;■ 

Course,  School  oj  Agncnlti 


colleges,  with  an 
attendance  of  more 
than  5,000  students. 
The  university  is 
governed  by  a  board 
of  regents,  consist- 
ing of  three  ex-officio 
members  and  nine 
appointees  of  the 
Governor.  The  State 
University  receives  its 
support  from  three 
sources:  income  from 
investments  and  from 

United    States    appropriations    and    grants, 
fees  of  students,  and  state  appropriations. 

Charities  and  Corrections.  No  state  can 
care  more  solicitously  for  its  unfortunates 
than  does  Minnesota.  The  school  for  feeble- 
minded and  the  colony  for  epileptics  were 
organized  and  located  in  Faribault  in  1879. 
These  institutions  are  for  the  care  of 
children  that  do  not  properly  belong  to 
hospitals    for  the   insane. 

The  insane  are  cared  for  in  three  state 
hospitals,  situated  at  St.  Peter,  Rochester, 
and  Fergus  Falls,  and  at  two  asylums  for 
the  insane,  located  at  Anoka  and  Hastings. 

In  1907  a  farm  for 
inebriates  was  authorized. 
This  will  be  founded  upon 
and  maintained  by  a  tax 
of  two  per  cent  levied  on 
licenses  issued  for  the  sale 
of  intoxicating  liquors. 

A  hospital  for  crippled 
and  deformed  children 
which  is  at  St.  Paul  is 
for  both  the  treatment 
and  the  education  of 
such  children. 

A  soldiers'  home  is 
located    near    Minnehaha 


1'    ::■   ,'.v  Short 
I ' nii'crsity. 


soldiers  and  sailors. 
Provision  is  also  made 
for  the  widows. 

A  public  school  for 
dependent  and  neg- 
lected children,  admit- 
ted upon  orders  from 
the  courts,  was  estab- 
lished in  Owatonna 
in  1885. 

A  school  for  the  deaf 

has    been  maintained 

at  Faribault  since 

1865,  and  another  for 

the  blind  since  1866.    A  well-organized  course 

of  study  is  followed  in  both  these  schools. 

A  state  training  school  for  boys  and 
girls  was  established  at  Red  Wing  in  1867 
to  which  are  committed,  by  the  Justice, 
Municipal,  and  District  courts,  boys  and 
girls  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  seven- 
teen years.  In  1907  the  girls  were  assigned 
to  a  separate  industrial  school  at  Sauk  Center. 
A  reformatory  established  at  St.  Cloud  in 
1887  is  for  the  care  of  boys  and  young  men 
between  sixteen  and  thirty  years  of  age, 
first  offenders  in  felony.  Instruction  in 
the  common  branches  and  skilled  train- 
ing in  several  trades  are 
provided. 

The  State  Prison  was 
located  at  Stillwater 
in  1851,  shortly  after 
Minnesota  was  made  a 
territory.  The  policy  of 
the  management  of  •  the 
prison  has  been  to  utilize 
the  labor  of  convicts.  To 
tliis  end  various  lines  of 
manufacturing  have  been 
followed,  and  at  present 
a  tailor  shop,  a  shoe 
factory,    a    binding-twine 


Falls   (Fie    46)    providing    F'^^-  4<j     -'  ^"  "^  "^  the  Mississippi  River    factory,  and  a  machinery 

\      t>-    t   /I    J-  o  n,car  Minnehaha  Falls.    At  the  left  may 


for   honorably  -  discharged 


be  seen  the  Soldiers'  Home. 


plant  are   in   operation. 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


n. 


GROWTH    AXD   DEVELOPMEXT 
OF  CITIES  AXD  TOWXS 


Gain  in  Population,  Y>'hile  the  past  ten 
years  has  seen  a  rapid  increase  in  urban  popu- 
lution,  at  present  only  a  trifle  over  one-half  the 
people  of  Minnesota  live  in  its  cities  and  towns. 
Durin'g  that  period  large  areas  were  opened  to 
agriculture  and  s.tock  raising  which  attracted 
increasing  numbers  of  people  to  the  country 
and  the  farm.  Yet,  by  igio,  the  366  cities 
in  the  state  in  1895  had  increased  to  644, 
and  many  new  villages, 
trade  centers  and 
markets  for  the  growing 
agricultural  districts, 
had  sprung  up  all  over 
the  state.  At  present, 
over  one-half  of  all  the 
people  li\'ing  in  places 
having  more  than  4,000 
inhabitants  are  found 
in  the  three  cities, 
Minneapolis,  St.  Paul, 
and  Duluth.    (Fig.  47.) 

The  Twin  Cities, 
Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul. 
Minneapolis,  the  largest 
city  and  commercial 
metropolis  of  the  state, 
is  the  greatest  manu- 
facturing center  in  the 
world  for  flour  and 
lumber.  This  position 
and  rank  has  been 
attained  in  onl}'  a  little 
more  than  sixty  years. 

The  beginning  of 
Minneapolis  was  the 
staking  out  of  a  group  of  claims  on  lands  opened 
to  settlement  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi 
River  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  in  July, 
1838.  The  town  site  of  St.  Anthony  was  laid 
out  in  1847,  and  by  1855  there  had  gro's\Ti  up 
a  cormnunity  of  2,500  people.  In  1854  the  first 
bridge  was  built  over  the  Mississippi.  In  1866 
Minneapolis,  a  village  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river,  was  incorporated,  and  in  1S72  the  two 
cities  were  united. 


r/:e  relative  size  of  incorporated  cities  and  villages  is  sliovjn 
by  the  size  of  t/ie  circles  ii>i,cn4 

,  /,ooo  to  Sfioo        r^,  5,ot»  to  lbl,<n4  f'^^    '^*'  ""  ""■'  '*'  rcUtiie 

^  \        /  f.^f-itUti^n  cf  Minneapolis 

Fig.  47.    The  density  of  urban  population  in  Minnesota, 
census  of  iQOj. 


Lying  on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi  at 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  the  city  possesses  a 
water  power  which  affords  excellent  advantages 
for  manufactures.  To  the  utilization  of  this 
power  is  due  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
manufacturing  centers  in  the  United  States. 
(Fig.  28.)  The  earliest  product  was  lumber, 
obtained  from  logs  cut  in  the  pine  forests  of 
the  upper  Mississippi  and  floated  down  the 
river  to  the  sawmills  built  at  the  falls.  (Fig.  31 .) 
Transported  by  rail,  this  lumber  afforded  a  cheap 
and  plentiful  supply  of  building  material  for  the 
people  of  the  prairies  to 
the  south  and  west. 

The  manufacture  of 
flour  also  began  early  in 
the  history  of  the  city. 
Since  1869,  the  year 
that  marked  the  begin- 
ning of  experiments  not 
only  in  the  scientific 
methods  of  milling  but 
also  in  the  growing 
of  the  best  variety  of 
spring  wheat  for  mak- 
ing flour,  there  has  been 
a  steady  development  in 
the  industry  of  flour 
manufactiire.  Now  the 
wheels  of  twenty-two 
of  the  world's  great- 
est flouring  mills  are 
driven  chiefly  by  power 
furnished  by  the  Falls 
of  St.  Anthon}-.  (Fig. 
32.)  These  include  the 
two  largest  flouring 
mills  in  the  world,  mak- 
ing  12,000   and    10.000 


barrels  daily.  Among  other  growing  industrial 
interests  the  manufacture  of  farm  machinery 
and  linseed  oil  are  even  now  important. 

Owing  to  an  advantageous  position,  ilinne- 
apolis  commands  a  varied  and  extensive  trade. 
(Fig.  48.)  The  city's  banking  business  has 
already  surpassed  one  billion  dollars  j-early. 

Minneapolis,  with  its  fine  parks  and  boule- 
vards, its  broad,  well-kept  streets,  and  its 
attractive  homes   set  in   spacious  grounds,   is 


32 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


ST.  PAUL  - 

MINNEAPOLIS 

and  vicinity 

Scale 


.l/i7,.»  lo  one  inch 


Fig.  48.     A  map  of  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  and  vicinity. 


one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  in  the  Middle 
West.  (Fig.  49.)  Lake  Minnetonka  (Fig.  8} 
ten  miles  from  the  city,  affords  a  most  delight- 
ful and  restful  lake  resort  for  both  Minneapolis 
and  St.  Paul.  Electric  cars  closely  connect 
these  cities  with  the  lake. 

This  city  is  also  an  educational  center,  being 
the  seat  of  the  State  University,  Minnesota 
College,  and  a  number  of  collegiate  institutions. 

St.  Paul,  the  capital,  lying  just  below  Fort 
Snelling  and  the  confluence  of  the  Minnesota 
and  Mississippi  rivers  (Fig.  48),  has  a  pictur- 
esque situation.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  cities 
in  the  state  in  business,  commercial  importance, 
and  population.  The  "Twin  Cities"  form  a  lead- 
ing railroad  center,  being  headquarters  of  several 
great  railways.  Post-office  receipts  of  more 
than  two  and  one-half  million  dollars  yearly 
show  the  large  volume  of  business  transacted. 


The  commercial  section  of  St.  Paul  lies  along 
both  banks  of  the  Mississippi  River  and  also 
occupies  the  narrow  valley  stretching  northward 
from  the  river  at  the  bend  in  the  stream.  On 
the  west  side  of  the  river  are  South  St.  Paul 
and  West  St.  Paul,  two  large  and  rapidly 
developing  divisions  of  the  commercial  section. 
Some  of  the  most  valuable  brickyards  in  the 
state  are  located  in  St.  Paul. 

St.  Paul  has  had  a  rapid  commercial  growth. 
In  1845  it  was  only  a  trading  post  with  three 
or  four  traders  in  furs  and  squatters'  supplies. 
A  post  office  was  established  in  1846,  and 
steamboats  began  to  make  regular  trips  down 
the  river  in  1847.  From  the  small  and  unim- 
portant trade  of  only  sixty  years  ago,  the 
volume  of  business  has  increased  steadily. 
Many  important  manufactories  have  been 
established  (Part  III,  Table,  p.  41),  and  as  a 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


33 


distributing  and  jobbing  point  St.  Paul  stands 
high  in  the  state.  The  meat  industry-  is 
especially  important,  the  largest  meat  packing 
plant  in  the  Northwest  being  located  at  South 
St.  Paul.  Among  other  leading  manufactures 
are  boots  and  shoes,  saddles  and  harness. 
St.  Paul,  it  is  said,  prints  more  law  books  than 
any  other  city  in  North  America.  The  city  has 
also  become  the  center  of  the  fur  industry  of  the 
United  States,  a  legacy  from  the  early  fur  traders 
and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 

Several  institutions  for  higher  education  are 
located  in  St.  Paul.  In  the  west  division  of 
the  city  are  Hamline  University  and  Macalester 
College,  both  prosperous  institutions.  Concor- 
dia College  is  meeting  the  wants  of  a  rapidly 
growing  enrollment,  and  the  College  of  St. 
Thomas  has  become  one 
of  the  leading  Catholic 
colleges  of  the  country. 
The  ]\Iinnesota  State 
Agricultural  College 
and  Experiment  Sta- 
tion is  located  at  St. 
Anthony  Park  within 
the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood of  the  city. 
(Fig.  45) 

The  capitol  is  one  of 
the  most  beautiful 
buildings    of    the    kin^l 

in    the    United    States.  

(Fig.  40.)  In  it  are  the  State  Historical  Society 
with  an  historical  library  of  more  than  100,000 


Fig.  51.     Sugar  Loaj  Mountain  staiiJhig  guard 
above  the  city  of  Winona. 

volumes,  a   large   number   of    historical    relics, 
and  the  great  law  library  of  the  state. 

The  approaches  to 
St.  Paul  both  from  the 
southeast  and  south- 
west are  beautiful. 
The  high  bluffs  along 
the  river  are  covered 
with  parks  or  occupied 
by  varied  buildings 
devoted  to  public  and 
private  use.  (Fig.  50.) 
Still  Other  Mississippi 
Valley  Towns.  The 
Mississippi  Valley  route 
was  naturally  selected 
as  one  of  the  first  and 


trcct  in  Minneapolis. 


^^mm 


Fig.  so-     '-^"  Siimimt  .-li 


street  of  St.  Pa 


X 


easiest  entrances  to  the  state.  Along  the  banks 
of  the  stream,  at  convenient  distances,  trading 
posts  and  forts  were  established.  Later  these 
became  distributing  points  or  markets  for  the 
surrounding  country.  Sites  were  usually  selected 
with  reference  to  inflowing  streams,  as  is  seen  in 
the  relation  of  Red  Wing  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Cannon  River,  Hastings  to  the  Vermilion  and 
the  St.  Croix. 

The  largest  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  towns 
is  Winona,  600  miles  above  St.  Louis  and  103 
miles  from  St.  Paul.  The  town  is  built  upon  the 
south  side  of  the  Mississippi  River  on  an  island 
in  the  flood  plain.  In  an  abandoned  channel 
of  the  Mississippi  lies  Lake  Winona.  Above 
this  lake  rises  the  bald  bluff.  Sugar  Loaf  Moun- 
tain (Fig.  51),  long  a  landmark  for  river  men. 


34 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


Lying  at  the  junction  of  five  important  rail- 
roads. Winona  holds  an  exceptional  commercial 
position  and  is  the  trade  center  for  the  rapidly 
growing  region  of  both  southern  Minnesota  and 
northern  Iowa.  The  manufacturing  interests  of 
the  city  are  developing  rapidly  From  a  town 
of  2,464  in  i860,  Winona  has  grown  steadily 
until  it  now  has  a  population  of  more  than 
20,000.  The  city  is  the  site  of  the  oldest  and 
largest  normal  school  in  the  state,  organized 
in   i860. 

Above  Winona,  where  the  Mississippi  River 
broadens  and  deepens  into  Lake  Pepin,  stands 
Wabasha,  also  built  upon  the  flood  plain  of  the 
Mississippi.  Bluffs  400  to  500  feet  high  sepa- 
rate it  from  the  adjacent  prairies.  Wabasha  is 
directly  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Chippewa 
River,  and  it  has  long 
been  a  local  business 
center  of  importance. 
It  is  also  the  center  of 
the  Lake  Pepin  pearl 
fisheries.  The  town  is 
a  favorite  river  resort 
for  campers  and  pleas- 
ure seekers. 

Lake  City,  Ij'ing  on 
the  shore  of  Lake  Pepin, 
is  one  of  the  most 
picturesque  towns  in 
Minnesota.  Evidences  of 
prehistoric  settlements 
are  found  in  numerous  mounds  to  be  seen 
along  the  lake  shore  in  the  region  of  both  Lake 
City  and  Wabasha.  The  encampment  grounds 
of  the  Minnesota  National  Guard  are  at  Lake 
City.  Extensive  nurseries  are  located  at  the 
city,  which  is  rapidly  becoming  an  important 
center  for  small  fruit. 

Red  Wing  (Fig.  52),  at  the  head  of  Lake  Pepin 
and  below  the  mouth  of  the  Cannon  River,  owes 
its  name  to  an  Indian  chief  famed  in  early  his- 
tory. Within  the  city  is  LaGrange  Mountain,  a 
conspicuous  feature  of  the  long  Mississippi  River 
gorge  and  another  landmark  for  early  settlers. 
The  city  is  a  center  for  manufactures.  Pottery 
is  the  chief  product,  the  Red  Wing  manufactory 
being  one  of  the  largest  in  the  United  States. 
Two  Lutheran  seminaries  are  located  here. 


Fio 


The  State  Trai 
rx JcJ  bhr'fs  II, 


Twenty  miles  below  St.  Paul,  at  the  junction 
of  the  Mississippi  and  Vermilion  rivers,  is 
Hastings  This  city  is  the  eastern  terminus  of 
an  important  division  of  a  great  railroad  system. 
The  old  Ramsey  mill,  one  of  the  early  grist- 
mills in  the  state,  was  built  here.  In  1899 
the  second  state  asylum  for  the  insane  was 
located  at  Hastings.  To  the  north  of  Hast- 
ings, where  the  River  St.  Croix  broadens  out 
into  beautiful  Lake  St.  Croix,  is  Stillwater,  the 
"City  of  the  Valley."  The  town  has  long  been 
one  of  the  centers  of  the  lumbering  industry  of 
the  St.  Croix  River  Valley,  its  trade  now  extend- 
ing not  only  throughout  the  St.  Croix  Valley 
but  toward  the  Pacific  and  Hudson  Bay. 

Upper  Mississippi  Valley  Towns.  Above 
Minneapolis  the  Mississippi  flows  no  longer 
in  a  deep  gorge,  but  in 
a  shallow,  open  channel. 
It  is  one  of  the  young 
streams  of  the  northern 
half  of  the  continent, 
where  only  recently  great 
glaciers  covered  the  sur- 
face. Towns  naturally 
grew  up  along  the  river 
at  points  most  easily 
reached  from  the  higher 
central  plateau.  Water 
power  was  also  consid- 
ered in  the  choice  of  a 
location.  These  villages 
soon  became  centers  for  the  transportation  of 
products  and  supplies,  and  for  the  conversion 
of  raw  material,  logs  and  grain,  into  the  more 
marketable  forms  of  lumber  and  flour. 

Just  above  Minneapolis,  at  the  confluence  of 
the  Rum  and  the  Mississippi,  is  Anoka,  a  pro- 
gressive industrial  town  with  good  water  power. 
Flour  milling  and  marble  working  are  carried  on 
and  among  its  manufactures  are  starch,  auto- 
mobiles, and  electric  supplies.  An  extensive 
market  for  farm  products,  especially  potatoes 
and  dairy  products,  is  growing  up. 

Farther  up  the  river,  seventy-five  miles  to 
the  north  and  west,  is  St.  Cloud,  a  large  city  of 
the  upper  Mississippi  Valley.  St.  Cloud  is  the 
center  of  granite  quarrying  in  central  Minne- 
sota, and  a  growing  railroad  town  with  large 


thig  School  /,. 
ill- tin-  city  ,•/  h 


'.i  W'li 


lying 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


35 


railroad  shops.  A  sixteen-foot  fall  in  the  river 
affords  excellent  water  power,  which  is  being 
developed.  The  Third  State  Normal  School  was 
opened  at  St.  Cloud  in  iS6o.  To  the  north  of 
St.  Cloud  isithe  city  of  Little  Falls,  where  the 
water  power  of  the  Mississippi,  estimated  at 
20,000  horse  power,  is  utilized  in  extensive 
lumber,  paper,  and  flouring  mills.  The  agri- 
cultural interests  around  Little  Falls  are  also 
developing  rapidly,  and  many  creameries  and 
cheese  factories  are  already  in  operation. 

North  and  east  of  Little  Falls,  and  beyond 
the  confluence  of  the  Crow  Wing  and  Missis- 
sippi rivers,  is  found  the  flourishing  city  of 
Braiiicrd.  The  town  stands  upon  high  sandy 
terraces  rising  from  the  Mississippi  River  and 
is  platted  into  large  squares  separated  by 
wide  streets.  (Fig.  53.) 
Brickmaking  is  a  great 
and  growing  industry, 
not  only  in  the  city  but 
in  the  region  round 
about  it.  Railroad 
shops  located  here  also 
give  employment  to 
many  people. 

Passing  Sandy  Lake 
and  the  cit}'  of  Grand 
Rapids,  at  the  entrance 
to  the  reservoir  region, 
and  continuing  beyond 
lakes  Winnibigoshish 
and  Cass  to  the  region  of  the  headwaters  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  we  reach  the  town  of  Bcmidji. 
This  is  one  of  the  newer  towns  of  Minnesota,  with 
large  lumber  interests,  and  a  center  of  trade  for 
the  surrounding  countrj". 

Towns  of  the  Minnesota  Valley.  In  early 
days  the  Minnesota  River  was  the  canoe  route 
from  the  Mississippi  to  the  prairie  region  of  the 
West — the  great  Indian  hunting  ground  for  the 
buffalo  and  the  antelope — and  to  Winnipeg  and 
Hudson  Bay.  All  through  this  region  were 
scattered  communities  of  Sioux  Indians.  These 
communities  were  sought  out  by  energetic 
traders,  who  located  trading  posts  at  con- 
venient points.  Later  many  of  these  early 
trading  posts  developed  into  prosperous  towns 
and  flourishing  industrial  centers. 


Fig.  53. 


On  the  west  bank  of  the  Minnesota,  about 
seventy-five  miles  southwest  of  St.  Paul,  is 
St.  Peter,  one  of  the  oldest  towns  in  the  state. 
Gustavus  Adolphus  College  is  located  here. 

Thirteen  miles  above  St.  Peter,  at  the  big  bend 
of  the  Minnesota,  is  Mankato.  Lying  at  the 
confluence  of  the  Blue  Earth  and  Minnesota 
rivers,  it  is  surounded  by  a  rich  farming  district, 
the  Undine  region.  The  city  is  noted  for  its 
production  of  flour  and  for  its  quarries.  A 
group  of  artesian  wells  furnishes  the  water 
supply.  Mankato,  the  site  of  the  Second  State 
Normal  School,  established  in  1S68,  has  grown 
to  be  an  important  educational  center.  An 
attractive  feature  of  the  suburbs  is  Minneopa 
State  Park  with  its  beautiful  waterfall.  New 
Ulm,  at  the  junction  of  the  Minnesota  and  the 
Cottonwood,  is  an  im- 
portant quarr\'ing  city 
of  this  region.  (Fig.  24.) 
In  the  upper  Minne- 
sota Valley,  where  the 
Chippewa  joins  the  Min- 
nesota from  the  north, 
is  Montevideo,  rapidly 
developing  into  an  enter- 
prising manufacturing 
and  business  center. 
Near  by  the  city  is  Camp 
Release,  where  stands 
the  soldiers'  monument 
commemorating  those 
who  fell  in  the  Sioux  rebellion  of  1862. 

Red  River  Valley  Towns.  Early  fur  traders 
and  explorers  traversed  nearly  the  entire  length 
of  the  Red  River  Valley  and  carried  the  storj^  of 
the  fertile  region  to  those  wishing'  to  seek 
new  homes.  The  rapid  increase  of  population 
along  the  line  of  travel  from  St.  Cloud  into  the 
Red  River  Valley  is  clearly  sho^v-n  on  the  earlier 
maps  of  Minnesota.  Later  a  network  of  rail- 
ways was  laid  upon  the  level  ground  of  this  old 
lake  bottom,  to  carry  the  many  millions  oi 
bushels  of  wheat  raised  in  the  region  to  the 
markets  of  the  world. 

One  of  the  leading  commercial  centers  of  the 
Red  River  Valley  is  Crookston,  a  large  wheat 
market  at  the  junction  of  several  railroads.  The 
city  has  good  water  power  in  the  Red  Lake 


CoaTtes7,  Mftrls  A.  CasBa,  Brfti 

A  scene  on  one  of  the  business 
streets  of  Brainerd. 


36 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


River,  where  this 
stream  enters  the 
lake  portion  of  its 
valley.  Logs 
floated  down  the 
river  are  sawed 
here.  North  and 
east  of  Crookston, 
at  the  junction  of 
Thief  and  Red 
Lake  rivers,  is 
Tliicf  River  Falls, 
a  lumber  marKet 
and  supply  point; 


A  sertiim  of  the  city  < 
Episcopalian  sciioi 


j  Farihault.  the  seat  of  tlic 
Is  of  the  state. 


by  two  streams, 
the  Mississippi 
and  the  M  innesota, 
whiqh  drain  its 
waters  southward 
to  the  Gulf.  The 
first  section, south- 
eastern Minneso- 
ta, lies  between 
the  Mississippi  on 
the  east  and  the 
Minnesota-Blue 
Earth  Valley  on 
the  west. 


southwest  of  that  place,  opposite  Grand  Forks, 
North  Dakota,  is  the  growing  town  of  East 
Grand  Forks.  Moorhcad  lies  on  the  Red 
River  opposite  Fargo,  North  Dakota.  Here  is 
the  Fourth  Minnesota  State  Normal  School, 
organized  in  1885.  In  Ottertail  County,  to  the 
south  and  east  of  Moorhead,  is  Fergus  Falls, 
also  on  Red  River  and  in  the  famed  Lake  Park 
region.  Within  five  miles  of  the  center  of  the 
city  the  river  falls  nearly  200  feet.  This  with 
associated  lake  reservoirs  afTords  the  city 
exceptional  advantages  for  manufactures.  Fer- 
gus Falls  is  a  distributing  point  and  the  trade 
center  of  an  excellent  farming  region. 

Towns  of  the  Central  Prairie  Region.  One  of 
the  most  interesting  physiographic  features 
of  the  state  is  the  high  plateau  of  central 
Minnesota,  with  an  area  of  more  than  20,000 
square  miles.  As  this  plateau  has  been  steadily 
brought  under  cultivation,  convenient  distribut- 
ing centers  and  market  towns  have  naturally 
grown  up.     The  plateau  is  cut  into  four  sections 


Just  above  the  Iowa  state  line,  in  the  southern 
tier  of  counties  of  this  area,  is  Albert  Lea,  a 
railroad  and  an  agricultural  center.  It  is  the 
county  seat  of  Freeborn  County,  one  of  the  well- 
developed  counties  of  the  state. 

About  twenty  miles  east  of  Albert  Lea  is 
Austin,  the  county  seat  of  Mower  County.  It 
is  the  trade  center  for  a  prosperous  agricultural 
area  and  the  seat  of  important  cement  and  brick 
manufactures.  To  the  north  and  east  of  Austin 
and  west  of  Winona  is  Rochester,  the  center  of 
another  rich  farming  community  and  the  site 
of  several  flourishing  factories.  The  work  done 
at  St.  Mary's  Hospital  makes  Rochester  one  of 
the  important  medical  centers  of  the  West. 

On  the  upper  course  of  the  Cannon  River 
we  find  Owatonna,  a  progressive  prairie  town 
drawing  trade  from  a  large  farming  district. 
The  mineral  water  from  the  Owatonna  Springs 
here  has  excellent  qualities. 

As  this  fertile  area  becomes  more  and  more 
thickly  settled  the   demand  for  nearer  trading 


^^H 

^^^^^^BBiV 

._,j  ■   .     .  ""  .T>^5^*' ^"^^^ 

L  ''t^^^^^V^^HrS^''    \1  '^'^ 

'^-^-    --' ^-^^i^^^^i^S — rW ^-^ 

Fig.  55. 


A  panoramic  view  of  the  city  of  Duliith.     In  the  backi^round  may  be  seen  the  bluff  along  which 
runs  the  famous  Boulevard  IJrive. 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


37 


and  business  centers  increases,  and  new  towns 
and  villages  spring  up.  Waseca,  another  typical 
prairie  town,  only  about  fifteen  miles  west  of 
Owatonna,  is  an  outgrowth  of  such  conditions. 
It  has  broad,  well-shaded  streets,  and  within 
and  near  the  city  are  several  beautiful  glacial 
lakes.  Waseca,  the  center  of  a  district  largely 
devoted  to  dairj-ing  and  stock  raising,  is  also  an 
important  manufacturing  cit}-.  Faribault  (Fig. 
54),  on  the  Cannon  River,  is  the  county  seat  of 
Rice  County,  a  rich  farming  area  where  dairying, 
stock  and  poultry  raising,  and  fruit  culture  are 
carried  on.  The  city  is  one  of  the  largest  school 
centers  in  the  state. 

In  the  northeastern  comer  of  Rice  County  is 
Nortlificld,  also  upon  the  Cannon  River.  Dairj'^- 
ing  is  an  important  industry  of  the  surrounding 
country.  Goodsell  Observatory ,  the  largest  astro- 
nomical observatory'  in  the  state,  is  at  Northfield. 

The  slope  of  the  Coteau,the  second  and  higher 
division  of  the  plateau  of  central  Minnesota,  is 
another  region  devoted  to  stock  raising  and 
farming.  All  over  the  area  towns  have  sprung 
up  in  answer  to  the  demand  for  markets  and 
trade  centers.  The  population  map  (Fig.  47) 
shows  these  towns  as  having  from  1,000  to 
5,000  inhabitants.  Among  these  are  Fairmont 
in  the  southeastern  section,  Marshall,  St.  James, 
Sleepy  Eye,  Tracy,  and  IVortliiiigton  in  the 
central  part,  and  Pipestone  and  Luvenie  in 
the  extreme  west,  only  a  few  miles  from  the 
South  Dakota  line,  all  flourishing  places. 

The  third  section  of  the  high  plateau  region, 
at  one  time  part  forest  and  part  prairie,  lies  to 
the  northeast  of  the  upper  course  and  to  the 
northwest  of  the  lower  course  of  the  Minne- 


sota River,  and  extends  northwest  to  the  Red 
River  Valley.  Willmar,  the  county  seat  of  Kandi- 
yohi County,  Alexandria,  county  seat  of  Douglas 
County,  and  in  McLeod  County  Hutchinson  and 
Glencoe,  the  county  seat,  are  prosperous  towns 
of  this  area. 

The  fourth  and  smallest  portion  of  the  central 
plateau  lies  between  the  Mississippi  and  the 
St.  Croix,  with  Mille  Lacs  at  its  center.  Brain- 
erd.  Little  Falls,  St.  Cloud,  Duluth,  Cloquet,  and 
especialty  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul,  are  supply 
and  market  centers  for  the  many  smaller  towns 
of  this  section. 

Towns  of  Northeastern  Minnesota.  The 
rugged  character  of  the  country  lying  between 
Lake  Superior  and  the  International  Bound- 
ary, as  compared  with  that  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  where  access  to  the  lumber  forests  was 
easier,  made  settlement  slow.  Northeastern 
Minnesota  became  commercially  important  by 
the  discovery  of  iron  ore  and  the  construction 
of  railroads  for  handling  this  vast  wealth.  The 
opening  of  the  Vermilion  Iron  Range  in  1884 
and  the  first  shipment  of  ore  from  the  Mesabi 
Range  in  1892  marked  the  beginning  of  what 
has  proved  to  be  the  greatest  iron  ore-producing 
region  in  the  world.  The  demand  for  trade 
and  market  centers  for  the  vast  quantities  of 
ore  from  the  Vermilion  and  Mesabi  ranges,  and 
for  lumber,  also  of  importance,  led  to  the  devel- 
opment of  many  cities  and  towns.  The  Cuyuna 
Range  now  being  developed  promises  ore  second 
only  to  that  of  the  Mesabi  Range. 

Duluth,  located  at  the  head  of  Lake  Superior 
(Fig.  57),  stands  second  only  to  New  York  among 
the  ports  of  the  United  States  in  the  volume 


■Mi^^^^ 

^-^.  -r^.  *'*^-  >'^.  ■:■:-: y*^^ 

W^m 

Fig.  56. 


A  continuation  of  the  view  presented  in  Fig.  55.      This  shows  the  many  fine  business 
buildings  which  characterize  the  city. 


38 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


of  its  tonnage.  With  Two  Harbors,  it  is  the 
principal  shipping  point  for  American  iron  ores. 
Here  millions  of  feet  of  lumber  are  manufactured 
yearly.  It  is  one  of  the  great  grain  markets  of 
the  world  and  the  chief  distributing  point  for 
coal  and  merchandise  for  the  Northwest. 
Duluth  (Figs.  55  and  56)  contains  many  fine 
parks  and  its  boulevard  along  an  ancient  beach 
line  of  the  lake,  now  475  feet  above  Lake 
Superior,  is  the  most  beautiful  driveway  in  the 
state.  The  city  is  the  seat  of  the  Fifth  State 
Normal  School,  established  in  1902,  Its  geo- 
graphic situation  is  unri- 
valed, and  as  the  port 
of  shipment  of  the  trans- 
continental railways  of 
America  and  the  shipping 
mart  for  a  vast  productive 
region,  the  "Head  of  the 
Lakes"  is  destined  to 
become  one  of  the  world's 
great  commercial  centers. 

Inland  about  twenty 
miles  from  Duluth  on 
the  St.  Louis  River  is 
Cloqnct.  The  falls  at  this 
point  afford  vast  water 
power  utilized  by  many 
industries.  Minneapohs, 
Duluth,  and  Cloquet  are 
the  largest  lumber-manu- 
facturing centers  in  the 
state. 

On  the  shore  of  Lake 
Superior,  about  thirty 
miles  to  the  northeast  of 
Duluth,  is  Two  Harbors, 
the  only  city  in  Lake  County.  Two  Harbors 
owes  its  name  to  a  twofold  indentation  of 
the  coast  by  which  a  double  harbor  is  formed. 
The  original  ore-shipping  point  for  the  Minne- 
sota iron  ranges,  it  is  still  the  sole  port  for  the 
Vermilion  Range,  several  million  tons  of  ore 
being  shipped  annually  from  here.  Located  at 
the  foot  of  a  valley  down  which  a  railroad  brings 
ore  to  its  lake  ore  docks,  the  city  has  naturally 
become  a  business  center  for  this  region. 

The  need  for  nearer  points  of  supply  at  the  ter- 


FlG. 


minals  of  the  railroads  leading  to  the  ore  docks 
has  led  to  the  development  of  several  important 
mining  towns.  One  of  the  most  important  of 
these  is  Hibbing,  an  "Iron  Range  town"  of  the 
Mesabi.  It  is  the  largest  producing  iron-ore 
camp  in  the  world. 

Virginia,  a  progressive  mining  town  of  the 
Mesabi  Range,  is  not  only  the  center  of  a  large 
lumber  trade  but  is  also  the  seat  of  several 
growing  lumber  industries,  and  an  important 
trade  center  of  northeastern  Minnesota. 

Other  important  towns  of  the  Mesabi  Range 
are  Evclcth  (Fig.  25),  Chis- 
holm,  and  Coleraine.  The 
tract  of  land  upon  which 
Evcleth  was  originally 
located  proved  later  to  be 
over  a  valuable  body  of 
iron  ore.  Owing  to  this, 
the  entire  city  was  moved 
one  mile  and  reestablished. 
Eveleth's  annual  output  of 
iron  ore  exceeds  four  mil- 
lion tons.  Six  miles  east 
of  Eveleth  is  the  new  min- 
ing town  of  Gilbert.  When 
valuable  iron  ores  were  dis- 
covered beneath  the  little 
town  of  Sparta  the  build- 
ings were  removed  to  this 
site.  Mining  and  lumber- 
ing are  both  of  importance 
to  Chisholm.  Coleraine,  a 
new  town  on  the  western 
Mesabi  Range,  was  built 
by  the  Mining  Company. 
The  town  site  is  owned  by 
the  company  and  lots  are  leased  to  employees, 
tradespeople,'  and  city  government. 

Ely,  a  railroad  terminus,  is  the  most  flourishing 
town  of  the  Vermilion  Iron  Range.  The  city,  with 
the  near-by  town  of  Wintou,  is  the  center  of  the 
lumber  trade  of  northeastern  Minnesota  and  the 
gateway  from  the  United  States  into  the  Hunters 
Island  region  of  Ontario.  International  Falls,  on 
the  Canadian  border,  is  at  the  falls  of  the  Rainy 
River,which  affords  splendid  water  power.  Here 
is  the  largest  paper  and  pulp  mill  in  the  state. 


.4  iiiap  of  Duluth  and  vicinity. 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


39 


II.     STATISTICS  AND  AIDS  TO  TEACHERS 


Statistics  of  the  State  of  Minnesota  by  Counties,  Federal  Census  of  1900  and  1910. 


1910 

1900 

tSS7 

l,i>09 

10.371 

6.743 

1S57 

447 

12.493 

II. 313 

iSiS 

1.3S9 

18.S40 

14.375 

1 866 

4,680 

19.337 

11.030 

1S49 

397 

II,6lS 

9,912 

1862 

4S4 

9.367 

8.731 

1853 

756 

29.337 

32.263 

ISSS 

6ii 

20,134 

19.7S7 

1857 

856 

17.559 

10.017 

iSss 

360 

I7.4S5 

17.544 

iSsr 

2.977 

11,620 

7.777 

1S62 

583 

13.458 

12.499 

1851 

440 

13.537 

13.248 

1S62 

r,o22 

19.640 

17.942 

igo2 

6,870 

1S74 

1.490 

1,336 

810 

ISS7 

634 

I2,6si 

12,069 

ISS7 

508 

16.861 

14.250 

1S49 

604 

25.171 

21,733 

iSsS 

432 

12.094 

13.340 

1858 

685 

1-.6O9 

17.964 

l8S5 

720 

19.949 

22,05s 

l8S3 

825 

25.680 

28,238 

1855 

720 

22,282 

21,838 

1S53 

744 

31.637 

31,137 

1868 

S35 

9. 114 

8,935 

1862 

573 

333,480 

228,340 

1 8  54 

561 

14.297 

15,400 

18S3 

547 

9.S3- 

6,578 

1S49 

446 

12,615 

11,675 

1849 

5.575 

17.208 

4.573 

ISS7 

720 

14.491 

14.793 

1858 

536 

6,461 

4,614 

l8s8 

814 

1S.960 

18,4.6 

187S 

1.059 

9.669 

7,889 

1006 

6.431 

1871 

763 

15.435 

14,289 

i8s6 

8.01 1 

4.634 

I8S3 

475 

18,609 

20,234 

1873 

528 

9.874 

8,966 

1S68 

714 

15,722 

14.591 

.85S 

504 

18,691 

19.595 

1906 

3.249 

1879 

I.7S4 

16,338 

15.698 

I8S7 

732 

I7,5IS 

16,936 

1856 

613 

17,022 

17.753 

ISS7 

576 

10,70s 

8,066 

1856 

1. 126 

24.053 

22,891 

iSsS 

700 

22,640 

22,335 

1S57 

70s 

11,755 

11,911 

i8S3 

452 

14.125 

14.774 

185:7 

720 

IS. 210 

14.932 

18S1 

1.42s 

13.446 

1S.045 

iS^^ 

644 

2  2.49  7 

23.119 

185S 

2.127 

46.036 

45.375 

1910 

701 

4.376 

l8?6 

1.42s 

15.87S 

11.546 

1S57 

460 

9.553 

9,264 

iS';8 

I.S93 

36.001 

35.429 

1S62 

700 

12.746 

1849 

172 

223.67s 

170,554 

1897 

415 

6.564 

12,195 

1S62 

870 

1S.425 

17.261 

I8S5 

9SO 

23.123 

23.693 

1853 

497 

25.911 

26.080 

I8S7 

490 

9. 668 

1895 

1.692 

11.338 

6.994 

iSss 

S.552 

163,274 

82.932 

ISS3 

360 

14.888 

15.147 

1856 

446 

8.136 

7.281 

IS53 

sss 

15,540 

16.862 

iSss 

1. 310 

47.733 

44.464 

lS5S 

426 

16,146 

16.S24 

1862 

557 

8,293 

8.72. 

1870 

740 

12,940 

13.503 

iS^S 

967 

23.407 

22.214 

IS62 

545 

8,049 

7.S73 

IS40 

531 

18.554 

18,924 

l8sS 

532 

8,652 

7.921 

i8S7 

430 

13.466 

14.760 

»849 

402 

26,013 

27,808 

i860 

432 

11,382 

11,496 

186S 

720 

9.063 

8.080 

1854 

630 

33.398 

35.686 

185s 

680 

28,082 

29.157 

1871 

744 

15.406 

14.602 

NUMBER 

ALTI- 

CITIES 

TUDE 

AND 

ABOVE 

VILLAGES 

SEA 

3 

1.27s 

3 

910 

6 

1,440 

5 

1,090 

S 

1.090 

10 

1. 000 

5 

I.02S 

7 

1.240 

10 

955 

8 

1.335 

6 

8 

915 

10 

1 .0  ?o 

3 

1.4 1  2 

r 

1.530 

7 

1.3SO 

7 

1,260 

960 

7 

1,250 

7 

1,38s 

1 1 

1,130 

13 

1,170 

8 

1,250 

7 

1.045 

12 

922 

990 

6 

1.464 

3 

1.007 

6 

.1,428 

5 

1.430 

2 

1, 100 

7 

1,150 

8 

89  5 

4 

1.250 

7 

1.120 

ll 

98s 

6 

1.72s 

9 

1,320 

8 

1,040 

2 

1,364 

7 

1^225 

3 
6 

12 

I,  ?oo 

8 

1.590 

5 

970 

I.5S8 

6 

1.025 

7 

1,180 

17 

1. 355 

2 

1.911 

8 

I.07S 

12 

1.030 

8 

1.275 

4 

89s 

4 

1. 100 

16 

1.090 

10 

1.055 

8 

1.06s 

6 

1. 510 

5 

1.050 

19 

1.43  5 

8 

925 

5 

1.000 

7 

1. 000 

22 

1. 195 

3 

1.225 

4 

1 .  1 30 

8 

1.07s 

II 

1.330 

5 

I.04S 

1,06s 

4 

1.350 

3 

1,120 

7 

911 

5 

1,110 

7 

1,000 

10 

1.070 

IS 

1,000 

8 

i,i6s 

farm  property  products 
includ:ng  not  fed  to 
live  stock     live   stock 


COUNTY  SEAT 


POPULATION 


1,126,397 
4,148,946 
5,261,249 
1,397.034 
3,890,727 
6,152.022 
21,982,968 
13.329,561 
939.664 
9.342,243 
855.735 
9.037.175 
5. 906, 326 
11,938,232 


11.793.346 
9.649,612 
8,273,041 
21,740,938 
20,358,108 
17.412,256 
18,044,61  7 
6,090,831 
19.909,980 
9,944,080 
1,017.404 
4.331.529 
33S.147 
14,143.654 
1,516.717 
11.715.026 
6,528.478 


12,830,550 
30,765 
11,126,777 
7,677.34s 
11.769.475 
12.441,951 

8,491.457 
16,250,759 
11.840,710 

2,081,803 

6,179,959 
20,282,148 
12,416,245 
10,156,362 
14.591.623 

9,615,630 
18,837.339 
18.895.532 

2.273.424 
7,280,618 
19,581,141 
7,625,332 
5,621,973 
3.407.214 
16,494,789 
18,539.120 
14,202,328 
10,706,914 
2,220,543 
1,152,486 
8,738,720 
3,420,146 
13.14S.36S 
l8,6?3,8l4 
12,966,558 
6,653.261 
9,461.736 
8,425,069 
7,024,849 

2,034,921 
12,502,254 
9,062,150 
9,566,562 
7.252,265 
14.371.809 
14.108,289 
12.060. 526 


207,477 
729.466 

.062.238 
224.088 
568.640 

.423 

1,805, 

,962 
154 

,546,166 
164,46s 

,625,90 

,081,15 

i. 544, SO 


8,747 
.745.332 
367.463 
M63.5S9 
.519.5 
,507,509 
■,606,9 
1.062,713 
!,699,9I7 
1,027,194 
.303. 70S 


:.434.690 
6.539 
.707.797 
.344.S89 
M  24.409 
.949.7 


304.S18 
,102,016 

•,707,766 
,978,560 
,643.60 

•,208,81 
.402,436 

\SS9.762 

:. 541. 557 

'318.576 
:. 258,276 
(,662,269 
,567.910 
.098,889 
717.978 

!. 356, 769 

1.235.004 

'.062,^        ' 

1.763. 

263.183 

2S3.998 

.390,878 

651,90 

.959.18 

1.121, 368 

:.772,S7 
.365.509 
.698,33 
,162,160 
,476.927 
.940,613 

,613,400 
,452,'. 
.261.1-26 
.488,039 
.913,093 
r, 267,059 
:.253.54 


!.38i,. 
647.1 
497. ■ 
64S.. 


I.S57.: 
S38,: 

^597,: 
559.< 


Aitkin 

Anoka 

Detroit 

Bemidji 

Foley 

Ortonville  .... 

Mankato 

New  Ulm 

Carlton 

Chaska 

Walker 

Montevideo.  .  . 
Center  Citv  . . . 

Moorhead 

Bagley 

Grand  Marais  . 

Windom 

Brainerd 

Hastings 

MantorviUe  . . . 
Alexandria  .  . . 
Blue  Earth  .  .  . 

Preston 

Albert  Lea. .  . . 

Red  Wing 

Elbow  Lake . . . 
Minneapolis. . . 

Caledonia 

Park  Rapids  . . 
Cambridge.  .  . . 
Grand  Rapids . 

Jackson 

Mora 

Willmar 

Hallock 

Internat'l  Falls 

Madison 

Harbors  . 
Le  Sueur  Center 

I vanhoe 

Marshall 

Glencoe 

Mahnomen  .  .  . 

Warren 

Fairmont 

Litchfield 

Princeton 

Little  Falls  . . . 

Austin 

Slayton 

St.  Peter 

Worthington.  . 

Ada 

Rochester 

Fergus  Falls  .  . 
Thief  RiverFalli 

Pine  City 

Pipestone 

Crookston  .... 

Glenwood 

St.  Paul 

Red  Lake  Falls 
Redwood  Falls 

Olivia 

Faribault 

Luveme 

Roseau 

Duluth 

Shakopee 

Elk  River 

Henderson 

St.  Cloud 

Owatonna  .... 

Morris 

Benson 

Long  Prairie  . . 

Wheaton 

Wabasha 

Wadena 

Waseca 

Stillwater 

St.  James 

Breckenridge  . , 

Winona 

Buffalo 

Granite  Falls. . 


1.63S 
3.972 
2,807 
5.099 
710 
1.774 
10.365 
5.64S 


1.749 
8,52 
3.983 


776 
301,408 


5,403 

449 

2,l6s 


1,944 
7.524 
3.Slt 


7.525 

62s 
02,7l8 
1.I7S 
1. 313 

737 
I.42S 
1,756 

7S5 
3.409 

805 

V,336 

3.27S 

47S 


2,152 
1,788 

796 
1,613 
2,958 
2,333 
1,555 
6,078 
6,960 

850 
4.176 
2.38s 
1,432 
7,844 
6,887 
3,714 
1,25s 
2,475 
7,559 
2,161 
14,744 


2.540 

644 

78.466 


10.600 
S.6s8 
1,685 
1,677 


1.253 
6.843 
6.072 
1.S19 
993 
2.536 
5.359 


301 
52.969 
2.047 
831 
904 
8.663 
5.561 
1.934 
1.525 
I.3S5 


4° 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTx\ 


State  or  Country  of  Birth  of  Population  of  Minnesota, 
Federal  Census  of  1900  and  State  Census,  1905. 


STATE 

Native  to  state  . 

Wisconsin 

New  York 

Iowa 

Illinois 

Michigan 


COUNTRY 


8q4,oiq     Sweden. 


0\n< 

PcnnsN'lvania 

Indiana 

Maine 

North  Dakota 

South  Dakota 

Massachusetts 

Vermont 

Other  states  and  terri- 
tories  

Total  native  bom .  . 


44..>4i 
42.096 
36.6"  2 
19.389 
1S.971 
16,492 
10,761 
10,654 
9,097 
7,264 
7.240 
6,273 


No 


ay. 


,vay. 


Canada. 

Finland 

Ireland 

Denmark 

Austria 

England 

Russia 

Bohemia 

Poland 

Scotland 

France 

Wales 

Other  countries 

Total  foreign  bom. 


^403 
.598 
1,853 
1,403 
,879 


The  Population  of  Minnesota  at  Each  Federal  Census 
from  1850  to  1910. 


YEAR 

RANK 

POPULATION 

INCREASE         PER  CENT 

IN                            OF 
TEN  YEARS    !    INCREASE 

DENSITY 

PER 
SO.  MILE 

iSso 

i860 

1870 

18S0 

1 890 

1900 

1910 

36 
30 
28 
25 

19 
19 

6,077 

172,023 

439.706 

780.773 

1,301,826 

I. 751. 394 

2.075.708 

165,046 
267,583 
341,067 
521.053 
440,160 
324,314 

2,7307 
155.6 
77.6 
66.7 
3-,-8 
iS.s 

5 
9 
16 

6 
9 
5 

Population    of    the    Principal    Cities    and    Towns    of 
Minnesota,  at  Each  Federal  Census  from  i860  to  1910. 


Minneapolis 

St.  Paul 

Duluth 

Winona 

St.  Clout^ 

Virginia 

Mankato 

Stillwater 

Red  Wing 

Faribault 

Hibbing 

Brainerd 

Rochester 

Chisholm 

Crookston 

Eveleth 

Cloquet 

Austin 

Fergus  Falls 

Albert  Lea 

Little  Falls 

Owatonna 

New  Ulm 

Bemirlii 

Two  Harbors  . . .  . 

Moorhearl 

South  St.  Paul.. . 

St.  Peter 

Willmar 

Hastings 

Anoka 

Thief  River  Falls  . 

Ely 

Northfield 

Lake  City 

Montevideo 

Waseca 

West  Minneapolis 

Alexandria 

Fairmont 

Detroit 

Richfield 

West  St.  Paul 

Wabasha 

Melrose 

Staoles 

Luveme 

East  Grand  Forks 

Pipestone 

Worthincton 

Hutchinson 

Litchfield 


I9I0 

1000 

1S90 

1880 

1870 

301,408 

202,718 

164.73S 

46,887 

.3,066 

214,744 

163,065 

133.156 

41,473 

20,030 

7S.466 

52,969 

33,1.5 

83S 

3. 13. 

18,583 

19.7.4 

lS,2o8 

10,208 

7.192 

10,600 

8.661 

7,686 

2,462 

2,161 

10,473 

2.962 

10,365 

10,599 

8,83.S 

S.5SO 

3.4S2 

10,198 

12,318 

11,200 

0.055 

4.. 24 

9.048 

7.525 

6,294 

5.S76 

4.260 

O.ooi 

7,868 

6,520 

5.4.5 

3.04s 

8.8 -,  2 

2,481 

8,526 

7,524 

5.703 

1.865 

7,844 

6,843 

S.32. 

5. .03 

3.593 

7.684 

7.559 

5. 350 

3.457 

1.227 

7.036 

2,752 

7.031 

3.072 

2,530 

5,060 

5,474 

3.901 

2,305 

2.030 

6,887 

5,072 

3.772 

1.635 

6,192 

4.500 

3.305 

1.066 

5.774 

2,354 

50S 

5.658 

S.56. 

3.840 

3,. 6. 

2.070 

S.648 

5.403 

3.741 

2.47. 

S.099 

2,183 

4.990 

3.278 

4.840 

3.7  ?o 

2,oSS 

4.510 

2.322 

2,242 

4,176 

4.302 

3.67. 

3.436 

2,124 

4.135 

3.409 

1,825 

1,002 

3.9S3 

3.81. 

3.70s 

3.8og 

3.458 

3,072 

3.769 

4.252 

2,700 

3,714 

1,819 

191 

3.572 

3.717 

901 

3.265 

3.210 

2,659 

2,206 

3.142 

2.744 

2,128 

2.506 

3.056 

2,146 

1,437 

862 

3,054 

3.103 

2,482 

l,7oS 

551 

3,022 

1 ,648 

3.001 

2,681 

2,118 

1.3  5  5 

2.958 

3,040 

1,205 

54. 

2.807 

2,o5o 

1,510 

554 

2,573 

2,56a 

l,.8.iO 

1,506 

2,522 

2,528 

2,487 

2,088 

1.739 

2,591 

1,768 

780 

2.558 

1.504 

2,540 

1.455 

679 

2,533 

2,077 

795 

2.475 

2,5.l6 

I  .2  \2 

222 

2,385 

2,386 

...54 

656 

2,368 

2.495 

1.4.4 

S-So 

2.333 

2,2.80 

1.890 

1,250 

353 

Population  of  the  Principal  Cities  and  Towns-Continued, 


Blue  Earth.  .. 

Shakopee 

Sleepy  Eye.  . . 
Proctor  Knott 
Grand  Rapids. 

Glenwood 

Sauk  Center. . 

Marshall 

St.  James 

Nashwauk. . . . 

Chaska 

Cass  Lake.  .  .  . 


1910 

1000 

.S90 

.88 

. 

S70 

iSOo 

2,319 
2,302 
2,247 
2.243 
2,230 
2,161 
2,154 
2,152 

2;o8o 
2,050 

2,900 
2,047 
2,046 
784 
1.428 
1,116 

2;o88 
2,607 

2, .65 

546 

1,560 

1.757 
1.5.3 

■527 

1.695 

1.203 

939 

1.066 

444 
l',o68 

349 

Principal  Items  of  Minnesota's  Wealth,  United  States 
Bureau  of  Statistics,  1900-1904. 


ITEMS 

1900 

1904 

(a)     Real  property  and  improve- 

$1,457,295,712 
95,876,400 
30,099,230 

37.953.943 
33,165,250 

347,150,000 

81,097,668 
430,982,623 

82,5.3.620,826 

Farm  implements  and  machinery 
Manufacturing    machinery,  tools, 

and   implements 

Gold  and  silv&r.    Coin  and  bullion 
(h)     Railroads    and  their    equip- 
ment   

Street  railways,  waterworks,  ship- 

35,673,607 
45,. 2. ,007 

35. 947. SOI 
466.734.000 

(c)     Personal  and  other  property 

521.276.958 

Total 

S3. 343. 722.  =  76 

(a)  Exclusive  of  railroad  and  other  property,  which  in  certain 
states  is  classed  as  "real,"  but  in  the  census  estimate  wealth  is 
referred  to  as  "personal  and  other." 

(b)  Including  telegraph  and  telephone  system,  electric  light  and 
power  stations,  Pullman  and  private  cars,  and  canals. 

(c)  Including  products  of  agriculture,  manufactures  and  mining, 
imported  merchandise,  clothing  and  personal  adornments,  furniture, 
€arriages,  and  other  kindred  property. 

Value  of  Agricultural  Products  of  Minnesota,  Federal 

Census  of  1900  and  Year  Book,  U.  S.  Dept. 

of  Agricultiure,  1908. 


All  crops 

All  cereals 

All  vegetables 

All  fruits 

Wheat 

Oats 

Hay  and  forage 

Com 

Barley 

Rye 

Buckwheat 

Potatoes 

Miscellaneous  vegetables 

Beans 

Onions 

Flaxseed 

Clover  seed 

Grapes  and  small  fruits. 

Orchard  products 

Dairy  products 

Eggs 

Wool 

Honey  and  wa.x 


Si. 3. 092. 602 

8s.8i7.SS5 

4.972.373 

464,212 

50,601,948 

15,829,804 

14,585,281 

11,337.105 

7,220.739 

7S3.852 

43.741 

3,408,997 

1,372.907 

49.68s 

130.404 

5,898.556 

34.536 

355.162 

100,050 

16,623,460 

4,437.148 

460.305 


8.246,c 
25,7SO.t 
IS.925  c 


Value  of  Live  Stock  in  Minnesota,  Federal  Census  of 
1900  and  Year  Book,U.S.Dept.of  Agriculture,  1908. 


LIVE  STOCK  OF  19OO 

STATE 

All  domestic  animals 12  $86,620,643 

Horses  and  mules 10  42.741,624 

Cattle 14  36,248,958 

Swine .0  5.865,590 

Sheep 27  1,740,088 

Poultry 16  2,927.717 

BecE 23  167.280 


$76. .36.1 

48,695.1 

8,036.( 

l,638,( 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


41 


Some  of  the  Leading  Industries  of  Minnesota   and  the  Value  of  their  Products,  from  the   Federal  Census  of 

1900  and  Census  Bulletin  46,   1905.* 


INDUSTRY 


Total  for  state ,. 

Flour  and  grist  mill  products 

Lumber  and  timber  products 

Slaughtering  and  meat  packing,  whole- 
sale  

Butter,  cheese,  and  condensed  milk  .... 

Printing  and  publishing 

Lumber,  planing-mill  products,  includ- 
ing sash,  doors,  and  blinds. 

Cars  and  general  shop  construction  and 
repairs  by  steam  railroad  companies  . 

Oil,  linseed 

Foundry  and  machine-shop  products  .  .  . 

Malt  liquors 

Bread  and  other  bakery  products 

Boots  and  shoes,  factory  product 

Fur  goods 

Tobacco — chewing,      smoking;       snuff, 

cigars,  and    cigarets 

Patent  medicines  and  compounds 

Clothing,  factory  made 

Agricultural  implements 

Structural  ironwork 

Furniture,  factory  product 

Gas,  illuminating  and  heating 

Cooperage 

Coffee  and  spice,  roasting  and  grinding. 

Carriages  and  wagons 

Saddlery  and  harness 

Confectionery 

Food  preparations 

Coppersmithing  and  sheet  iron  working  . 

Brick  and  tile 

Hosiery  and  knit  goods 

Furs,  dressed 

Malt 

Paper  and  wood  pulp 


1005 
1900 
190.S 


190s 
I  goo 
IQ05 

190S 

1905 
1900 
1905 
1900 
19OS 

190S 

1905 
1900 
I9°S 
1900 
1905 
1900 
1905 
1900 
190S 

190S 
1900 
1905 

190S 

190S 
1900 
19OS 

1905 
1900 
190S 

190S 
1900 
1905 
1900 
I9°S 

190S 
1900 
190S 
I  goo 

I90S 

I90S 
1900 

1905 

I90S 
1900 


4.756 
II. 114 

36,5 


46 

352 
30S 


$184,903,271 
165.S32.246 
34.857.366 
24,125.781 
28.953.854 
52.095.923 
3.280.383 
I.2II.086 
3.305.120 
2,264,956 
8,519.729 
7,578,686 


5,31 


239 


r, 489, 374 
6,961,326 
4.g33.8o5 
3.201.094 
1.963. 231 
5.855.363 
4.267.322 
13.552.125 
8.539.722 
2.508.707 
1. 569.47 1 
2.432.365 
2.237.540 
2.542.5g7 
1.235.579 
1.468,659 
1,224,700 
1,702,701 
1,071,643 
2,093,054 
1,260,309 
7,793.316 
3.730.055 
2,509,869 

2,250.669 

1,720,401 

11.3S9.659 

8,899.676 

909. 7SS 

534.170 

783.959 

401.02s 

2.159.88s 

1.860.594 

J.725.359 

1,997.941 

824.561 

419,782 

556.049 

221.553 


.040.656 
968.304 
484.004 


69.636 
77.234 
4,481 


15.140 

1,320 

627 


.035 
856 
.347 


$35,843,145 

33.4S4.82S 

2,6;o,8iX 

2.383,836 

8,651,071 

7.140,571 

756,293 

280,463 

633.532 

398,224 

2,505,663 

1.807,16s 

1.482.831 

3.3oi!i8o 
2,599.387 
203. 50S 
81,981 
I.554.93S 
1.512. 579 
669,594 
417.832 
669.929 
393.427 
7  18.600 
719.231 
497.195 
320.183 
837.453 
661.S78 
110.327 
63.473 
545.597 
636.994 
637.232 
423.054 
757.288 

691,389 
451. 131 
268,025 
168.558 
373.8S4 
312.999 
66,420 
53,240 
424.777 
461.295 

367.367 
202.138 
131.936 


466,478 
328,890 


51.428 
13.85s 
234.378 


$210,553,040 

■  73.425.615 

100.060,973 

74.509.733 

12.302.578 

26.047. 7S1 

14.373.743 

5,956,371 

11,139.565 

7,188,711 

2.642,380 

1,628,916 

4,978,161 

2,619,848 

3,715.730 


2.951,004 
2.614.876 
2.753.777 
1.730.094 

867.901 
2.658.002 
1. 532. 116 
2.631.689 
2.378.156 
2.01T.528 
1,234,569 
1.098.322 

954.143 
1,282.742 

300.811 
1. 714.947 
1.562,055 
1,089,641 

718,604 
1. 634. 113 

1 .02 3. 7 38 

043.312 

623.634 

303.S68 

1,203.848 

1.013,265 

1. 372.911 

867,500 

781.727 

877.885 

1.017,722 

I. 504. 213 

919.207 

7S9.443 

925.481 

488.343 

640.417 

290.302 
185.284 
626.001 
197.184 


166.553 
676.549 


122.059.123 
83.877.709 
33.183.309 
43. 58s. 161 
16,723,276 

6.803.1 1  2 
12.871. 129 

8.479.8g6 
11,105.358 


7.018,234 
3,272.598 
6,246.184 
S.075.077 
6.177.52S 
4.4S6.g28 
4.6ig.5o7 
2.760.489 
4.169.732 
3.615.801 
3.378.731 
2,196.031 
3,205,354 
2  471,642 
2,980,115 
887  619 
2,898,06s 
2,609,101 
2,885,05s 
1,763.780 
2.840.362 

2.561.776 
1.932.188 
2.033.347 
1.075.852 
1  913.838 
1.595. 527 
1.816  27S 
1.250.300 
1.715.858 
I  959.974 
1.695.451 
2.618  361 
1.674.330 
1.419.009 
1.590.513 
700.509 
1.478.648 

1.227.13s 


The  Leading  Manufacturing  Cities   of   Minnesota  and 

The  Total  Amount 

of  Iron  Ore  (Long  Tons) 

Produced 

Some  Facts  Concerning  their  Industries,  Federal 

Annually  in  Minnesota,  from  1884  to   1908, 

Census  of  1900  and  Census  Bulletin  46, 1905.* 

U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 

OF 

OF 

EARNERS 

WAGES  PAID 

PRODUCT 

YEAR 

AMOUNT 

YEAR 

AMOUNT 

(    190s 

877 

21.752 

$11,460,385 

$121,593,120 

Minneapolis 

2.36S 

26,608 

12,708,523 

110,943,043 

1884.. . 

189s  .  . 

St.  Paul .  . . 

614 

38.318,704 

1885... 

227,07s 

1907     ■ 

1    1900 

7.669,805 

38.541.030 

1886.. . 

307.948 

1897   .  . 

5,601,429 

18.652,220 

Duluth 

163 

3,987 

2.185,783 

1887... 

394.910 

1898  .  . 

5,063.509 

(    igoo 

433 

3.998 

2.145,444 

10.628.957 

1888.. . 

511.953 

1899 

Winona.  .  . 

86 

1.953 

894,094 

7.850.236 

1889.. . 

864.508 

1900...      9.834.399 

(    1900 

162 

2,214 

928,400 

6.576.382 

1890.. . 

S91.910 

19CI  .  .]    11.109,537 

54 

724 

303,300 

3.422.117 

1891... 

945,105 

1902  .  . 

15,137,050 

1    1900 

135 

683 

242,742 

2.242.000 

1892... 

.  .      I  255.463 

1903  .  . 

15.371.396 

Stillwater.. 

36 

955 

454.345 

2.784.113 

1893.. . 

1.499.927 

1904  .  . 

1     1900           114 

2,803           I  122.330  1        4,904.792 

1894.. . 

..      2.968,463      1    1905     .1    21,735.182   II                  1 

•Statistics  for  1905  include  only  factory  products;  for  previous  census,  all  products. 


SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS  TO  ACCoMPAW  THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MTMNESOTA 


Location  and  Size,  (i)  Descrilie  Minnesota's  posi- 
tion in  North  America.  (2)  Within  what  physical 
division  of  the  continent  is  the  state?  (Adv.  Geog., 
Fig.  173.)  (3)  What  three  important  river  systems 
are  within  the  state?  (4)  On  a  map  of  the  United 
States  trace  and  describe  the  boundaries  of  Minnesota. 
(5)  On  the  globe  trace  the  4gth  parallel  of  latitude, 
noting  all  countries  and  cities  crossed  by  it.  (6)  On 
the  map  of  the  United  States  select  the  states  which 
seem  to  be  larger  than  Minnesota.  (7)  On  the  state 
map  locate  Lake  of  the  Woods,  Pigeon  Point,  Big 
Stone  Lake,  Lake  St.  Croix,  Ortonville,  and  Still- 
water. (S)  How  much  longer  is  the  greatest  length 
of  the  state  than  the  width  of  the  narrowest  portion  ? 

Surface  and  Drainage,  (i)  Describe  the  southern 
portion  of  the  state  as  to  surface,  vegetation,  indus- 
tries and  crops.  (2)  Wliere  is  the  highest  ground 
of  this  section ?  What  is  its  altitude?  (3)  Describe, 
as  to  surface  and  industries,  the  Lower  Mississippi 
Valley;  the  Mississippi-Minnesota  Valley;  the  Upper 
Mississippi  Valley.  (4)  On  the  physical  map  locate 
the  Red  River  Valley.  (5)  Make  three  statements 
in  regard  to  its  slopes,  vegetation,  and  crops.  (6) 
What  was  Lake  Agassiz?  (7)  Locate  the  Rainy 
River  Valley  on  the  physical  map.  (8)  Describe 
the  surface  of  northeastern  Minnesota.  (9)  Why  is 
this  section  called  the  rocky  region  of  the  state? 
What  are  its  resources?  (10)  To  what  three  great 
systems  does  the  drainage  of  Minnesota  belong?  (11) 
Trace  and  describe  that  portion  of  each  of  these 
systems  found  within  the  state.  (12)  Distinguish 
between  the  river  valleys  of  the  northwestern  and 
southeastern  sections.  (13)  What  is  a  divide?  (14) 
What  is  the  International  Boundary? 

Lakes,  (i)  For  what  striking  scenic  feature  is 
Minnesota  noted?  (2)  State  seven  important  func- 
tions of  lakes.  (3)  On  the  map  locate  the  area  con- 
taining most  of  the  lakes  of  Minnesota.  (4)  What  is 
the  origin  of  the  greater  number  of  these  lakes?  (5) 
What  happens  to  many  glacial  lakes?  (6)  In  what 
way  were  Lac  qui  Parle  and  Lake  Pepin  formed?  (7) 
What  is  the  third  type  of  lakes  found  in  Minnesota? 
(S)  Where  are  they  found?  (9)  Trace  the  course 
of  the  Mississippi  from  Lake  Itasca  to  the  Iowa 
state  line,  locating  all   the   tributary  lakes  in    order. 

Geological  Growth.  (1)  What  characteristic  marked 
the  early  land  of  Minnesota?  (2)  What  disturb- 
ances were  features  of  this  early  period?  (3)  In 
what  sections  are  the  many  formations  of  these 
years  to  be  found?  (4)  Why  do  geologists  conclude 
that  the  time  of  submergence  beneath  the  sea  was 
comparatively  short  for  Minnesota?  (5)  What  is 
the  Glacial  Period?  A  glacier?  (6)  What  traces 
show  that  the  vast  ice  sheet  advanced  and  retreated 
many  times? 


Underground  Waters,  (i)  E.xplain  the  source  of 
the  ground-water  .supply  of  Minnesota.  (2)  What 
is  an  artesian  well?  An  artesian  basin?  (3)  By 
what  means  may  a  pure  supply  of  water  be  secured? 

(4)  Distinguish    between    ground    water    and    rain. 
Climate,     (i)     The     state    lies    in     what    climatic 

area^  (2)  What  is  the  result  of  this?  (3)  What 
month  usually  marks  the  opening  of  spring  in  Minne- 
sota? The  close  of  the  growing  season?  (4)  Iv. 
what  section  is  the  heaviest  rainfall?       The  lightest? 

(5)  How  does  the  snowfall  of  Minnesota  compare 
with  that  of  other  states? 

Vegetation,  (i)  In  early  days  the  forests  occu- 
pied what  portions  of  the  state?  The  prairies  what 
portions?  (2)  What  timber  trees  were  found?  (3) 
Sketch  leaf  forms  of  five  of  these.  (4)  Name  and 
locate  by  counties  the  National  Forests  of  Minnesota. 

Animals,  (i)  What  animal  was  king  of  the  prairie ? 
AVhere  can  you  find  these  animals  now?  (2)  Name 
the  wild  animals  found  in  the  forests  of  the  state. 
(3)  What  trade  was  a  feature  of  the  early  history 
of  this  region  ?  (4)  Among  the  fur-bearing  animals, 
which  are  the  most  valuable?  (5)  How  are  these 
animals  secured?  (6)  What  natural  features  of  the 
state    attract   wild   ducks  and   geese? 

Agriculture,  (i)  What  is  the  leading  industry 
of  Minnesota?  (2)  In  the  central  and  northern 
portions,  what  industry  came  first?  AVhy?  (3) 
What  is  the  most  important  crop  of  the  southern 
farmer'  Why  is  this  the  most  important?  (4) 
What  crop  ranks  second?  (5)  Name  four  other 
farm  products.  (6)  Why  do  stock  raising  and 
dairying  prosper?  (7)  What  was  Minnesota's  rank 
among  dairying  states  in  1900?  (8)  What  fruits 
are  raised  ? 

Quarrying   and   Mining,     (i)     What    is    a    (luarry? 

(2)  Name  eight  rocks  of  Minnesota  that  are  quarried. 

(3)  On  your  own  map  locate  the  principal  quarry 
grounds  for  sandstone ;  quartzite ;  limestone ;  dolomite ; 
gneiss;  granite;  slate.  (4)  Why  is  quarrying  in 
Minnesota  comparatively  easy?  (5)  What  is  the 
leading  mineral  product?  (6)  How  does  Minnesota 
rank  among  the  iron-producing  regionr  of  the  world  ? 
(7)  Describe  the  two  varieties  of  iron  ore  found,  and 
locate  the  ranges  producing  each.  (8)  What  is  the 
annual  shipment  of  ore  from  these  ranges?  (9) 
Explain  the  process  of  mining  Minnesota  ore. 

Manufactures,  (i)  Locate  the  old  Ramsey  mill. 
(2)  How  long  is  it  since  the  first  flouring  mill  began 
operating  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony?  (3)  Why 
was  it  located  there?  (4)  In  1908  what  was  the 
value  of  the  output  from  this  center?  (5)  Wliat 
timber  tree  is  used  in  the  lumbering  industry  of  the 
state?  (6)  The  rivers  of  Minnesota  furnish  what 
great  resource  that  aids  in  developing  manufactures 


fdzl 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  MINNESOTA 


43 


Commerce,  (i)  Upon  what  two  features  does 
commerce  depend?  (2)  What  is  the  chief  means  of 
transportation  in  Minnesota?  (3)  In  which  ten 
years  did  the  railroad  mileage  of  Minnesota  show  the 
most  increase?  (4)  What  means  for  water  trans- 
portation has  Minnesota?  (5)  Explain  the  develop- 
ment of  the   ports,   Duluth   and   Two    Harbors. 

Early  History,  (i)  Minnesota  formed  a  part  of 
what  great  territory?  (2)  What  section  of  the  state 
was  explored  by  Captain  Carver?  (3)  By  whom 
and  for  what  purpose  were  Lewis  and  Clark  sent  out? 
What  was  Lieutenant  Pike's  errand?  (4)  Describe 
the  explorations  of  General  Cass;  Henry  R.  School- 
craft. (5)  On  the  historical  map  locate  Major  Long'r 
route.  (6)  What  great  Indian  tribe  occupied  the 
southern  portion  of  the  state?  (7)  What  traces  wercJ 
left  by  earlier  inhabitants?  (8)  Who  were  the  first 
ivhite  men  in  Minnesota?  (g)  What  points  are 
associated  with  Sieur  du  Luth  ?  With  Father  Henne- 
()in?      (10)     What   was   the    Hudson    Bay    Company? 

People,  (i)  How  long  since  Minnesota  became  a 
state?  (2)  The  development  of  what  interests  led 
to  the  settlement  of  northern  Minnesota?  (3)  What 
part  of  the  total  population  was  born  in  Minnesota? 
What  part  is  foreign-born  ? 

Government,  (i)  Who  represents  Minnesota  in 
Congress?  (2)  Of  what  does  the  state  Legislature 
consist?  Where  does  it  meet?  (3)  Name  the  six 
leading  state  officers.  (4)  Who  form  the  present 
State  Board  of  Control  ?  (5)  Give  the  leading  county 
o.licers  of  your  county. 

Education.  (i)  How  long  has  the  public  school 
system  been  developing?  (2)  Of  what  does  it  con- 
sist? (3)  Where  is  the  State  L^niversity  located? 
How  is  it  supported  ?  (4)  Sketch  your  own  map  and 
locate  the  leading  educational  institutions. 

Charities  and  Corrections,  (i)  How  does  Minne- 
sota care  for  the  unfortunates  of  the  state?  (2) 
Locate   these  various  institutions  on   the  state  map. 


Cities  and  Towns,  (i)  What  part  of  the  people 
of  Minnesota  live  in  the  cities  and  towns?  Why  is 
this  per  cent  so  small?  (2)  What  are  the  Twin 
Cities?  (3)  Describe  Minneapolis  as  to  location, 
natural  advantages  and  resources,  history,  industries, 
products,  and  trade.  (4)  Describe  the  location  of 
St.  Paul.  (5)  Make  three  statements  to  show  how 
rapidly  the  city  has  grown.  (6)  What  industry  is 
especially  important?  Name  six  manufactured 
products.  (7)  What  educational  institutions  are 
located  in  St.  Paul?  In  Minneapolis?  (8)  What  is 
the  Mississippi  Valley  route?  Locate  five  important 
towns  along  this  route.  (9)  Of  what  regions  is 
Winona  a  trade  center?  (10)  What  natural  advan- 
tages has  Wabasha'  (11)  Lake  City  possesses  what 
distinguishing  points?  (12)  What  is  the  chief  manu- 
factured product  of  Red  Wing?  (13)  Describe 
Hastings  Stillwater.  (14)  What  natural  advantages 
has  Anoka?  (15)  Name  and  locate  six  impor- 
tant towns  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  Valley.  (16) 
St.  Cloud  is  the  center  of  what  industry?  (17)  What 
great  natural  resource  has  Little  Falls?  (18)  Name 
two  distinguishing  industries  of  Brainerd.  (19) 
Why  is  Bemidji  of  importance?  (20)  Describe  the 
development  of  Minnesota  Valley  towns.  (21)  Name 
and  locate  four  important  towns  of  this  section.  (22) 
What  distinguishes  all  the  towns  of  the  Red  River 
Valley?  Name  and  locate  five.  (23)  Locate  the 
leading  towns  of  each  of  the  three  largest  divisions  of 
the  Central  Prairie  Region.  (24)  Name  the  leading 
industries  of  each  division.  (25)  What  lake  is 
the  center  of  the  fourth  and  smallest  division? 
(26)  What  led  to  the  development  of  towns  in  north- 
eastern ^Minnesota?  (27)  Describe  position,  natural 
advantages,  and  interests  of  Duluth.  (28)  What  natu- 
ral resources  has  Clocjuet?  (29)  Why  was  Two  Har- 
bors so  named  ?  (30)  Describe  Hibbing,  Virginia,  Eve- 
leth,  Chisholm,  Gilbert,  and  Coleraine.  (31)  Why  are 
Ely  and  Winton  important  ?    Locate  International  Falls. 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  COLLATERAL  READING 


Bond,  Minnesota  and  Its  Resources. 

Chisholm  and  Leete,  Longman's  School  Geography. 

Flandrau,  History  of  Minnesota. 

Gilfillan,  Early  Political  History  oj  Minnesota. 

Hall,  C.  W.,  Geography  of  Minnesota. 

Haqjer's    Magazine,    The    Capitals    of    the    Northwest, 

March.  1892. 
Harrington,  Geography,  History,  and  Civil  Government. 
Long,  Xarratii-c    of    an    Expedition    to    the    Source    of 

St.   Peter's  River,  Lake  Winjiepeck,  Lake  of  the 

Woods,  etc.,  Perfortned  in  the  Vear  182 j. 
McMurry,  Chas.  A.,  Type  Studies  from    United  States 

Geography,  pp.  108-131,  154-174.    Larger  Types 

of  American  Geography,  pp.  94-134. 
McVey,    Government    of    Minnesota,    Its    History    and 

A  dmin  istration. 
Mill,  Commercial  Geography. 
Minnesota   Geological    and    Natural    History   Sur\^ey, 

Annual  Reports. 
Minnesota  Historical  Society  Collections , /?iWiogra/>^!j', 

Vol    II'. 


Minnct^ota  State  Board  of  Immigration,  Minnesota's 
Fiftieth  Anniversary. 

Neill,  Concise  History  of  the  State  of  Minnesota. 

Pike,   The  Expedition  of  Zebulon  M.  Pike  to  the  Head- 

»  waters    of    the    Mississippi,    through   Louisiana 

Territory  and  in  New  Spain. 

Robinson,  E.  V.,  Commercial  Geography. 

Sempie,  Ellen  C,  American  History  and  Its  Geographi- 
cal Conditions. 

Seymour,  Sketches  of  Minnesota. 

Schoolcraft,  H.  R.,  Historical  and  Statistical  Informa- 
tion Respecting  the  History,  Condition  and  Pros- 
pects of  the  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States. 

United  States  Geological  Survey,  Mineral  Resources, 
1008. 

United  States  Geological  Survev,  Monographs  XLIIl 
and  XI.V. 

Williams,  Outline  History  of  Minnesota  from  i8^8  to 
1881  (In  Warner  and  Foote's  "History  of 
Dakota.") 


THE  INDEX 


The  figures  inclosed  in  parentheses  refer  to  illustrations,  all  other  figures  refer  to  pages. 


Agricultural,  area,  36;  center,  36, 

products,  value  of.  40. 
Agriculture,     20-22;     School     of, 

class  in  com  judging   (Fig,  45), 

Albert  Lea,  36. 
Alexandria,  37. 
Animals,  20. 
Anoka.  30,  34. 
Area,  7- 

Artesian  wells,  17.  35- 
Austin,  id. 

Barley.  10.  21,  22. 

Bemidji,  ,15. 

Bemidji  Lake,  10. 

Big   Cottonwood  River,   scene   on 

the  (Fig.  6).  13. 
Blue  Earth    River,  o;    Valley,  9 
Brainerd,      35;      business      street 

(Fig.  53).  35- 
Brickmaking,  3>- 
Browns  Valley,  10. 

Capitol,  33\  at  St.  Paul  (Fig.  40). 

Carlton,  23,  24. 

Carver.    Captain   Jonathan,    26. 

Cass.  General.  26. 

Cass  Lake,  10. 

Cattle,  21. 

Central     Prairie     Region,     Towns 

of  the,  ^o-3:- 
Charities  and  Corrections.  30. 
Chippewa  River,  15.  34- 
Chisholm.  3^- 
Clay,  12. 
Climate,  1S-19. 
Cloquet.  3S. 
Coleraine,  38. 
Commerce,  25-26. 
Congressional  Districts,  map  (Fig. 

43).  28. 

Copper,  27.  .       r      Al- 

corn,  10,  21,  22;  cutting  for  the 
silo    (Fig.    17).    20;    harvesting 
with  com  binder  (Fig.  18),  20. 
class  in  judging  (Fig.  45).  30- 
Coteau  des  Prairies,  9. 
Counties.  Statistics  by,   39. 
Courtland,  22. 

Cows,    herd  of  dairy  (Fig.  20),  21. 
Creamery,  21;  at  Litchfield  (Fig. 

21),  21;  35' 
Crookston,  35. 
Cuyuna  Range,  37. 
Dairying,  9,  22;  industry,  21. 
Dams,  wing  (Fig.  3i)-  25- 
Divide,  10,  13;  (Fig.  7).  13- 
Drainage,  12-13,  15;  basins,  13- 
Duluth,    24.    25,    26,    31.    37.    3S; 
city   of    (Fig.    55).    36;   city   of 
(Fig.  56),  37;  map  (Fig.  57).  38. 

East  Grand  Forks,  36. 

Education,  20-30. 

Educational  institutions,  29-,  lead- 
ing, map  (Fig.  44),  29;  table,  29 
in  St.  Paul    33- 

Ely,  3S. 

Eveleth,  3S. 

Explorations,  26,  27. 

Faribault,  37;  city  of  (Fig.  54),  36 

Fairmont,  37. 

Farm  machinery,  31- 

Farm,    prairie,     27 '.    scene    on    a 

(Fig.    4),    11;   view   of   a   dairy 

(Fig.   7),  13. 
Farm     products,     value     of,   map 

(Fig.  19).  20. 
Farming,      10;     community,     36 

district,    36;  region,    30. 
Fayal  Mine,  in  the  Mesabi  Rang. 

(Fig.  25).  22. 
Fergus  Falls.  36. 
Flax,  10. 

Flood  plain,  10,  21,  34. 
Flour,  31.  3S- 
Fond  du  Lac,  22. 
Fort  Snelling.  10,   11.  24.   27. 
Forested  area,  19-.  region,  n. 


Forest  Reserves,  map  (Fig.  ift).io. 

Frontenac,  23. 

Fruit  raising,  21. 

Garden  products.  2j. 

Gilbert,  3»- 

Glacial  action,  23;    drift.    11.    17* 

Period,   II,    12.   14,    16. 
Glaciers,  17- 
Gneisses,  16. 

Goodsell  Observatory,  37- 
Government,  20. 
Grand  Rapids,  35- 
Granite,  it*.  23. 
Gravel  ridges,  11. 
Gray  Cloud  Island,  scene  on  the 

Mississippi   at   (Fig.    33)1    25. 
Grazing,  9- 
GroseiUiers.  27. 
Groimd  water,  17,  18. 

Hastings,  10,  24,  27,  34. 
Hennepin,  Father,  27. 
Hibbing.  38. 

Historical  map  (Fig.  36),  26. 
History,  Early.  26-28. 

Hogs,    2  1. 

Hudson  Bay  Company,   28,  33. 
Hutchinson,  37- 

Ice,  13;  fields  of,  16. 

Indian,  grave  of  an  (Fig.  37\  27; 

reserves,   map   (Fig.    16),    19. 
Indians,  26,   27.  28,.  35- 
International  Boundary,  12. 
International  Falls,  38. 
Iron.  27;  mines,  28;  ore,  12,  23. 
Iron  ore,  total  amount  produced, 

41. 
Itasca  Lake,  10.  12;  (Fig.  5),  12 

discovc-rv  of,   27. 
Itasca  State  Park,  10. 


Lac  qui  Parle,   1  s. 

Lac  qui  Parle  River.  15. 

La  Grange  Mountain,   34. 

Lake  basins,  1 1. 

Lake  City,  34. 

Lake  of  the  Woods.  7.  15. 

Lake  Park  region.  36. 

Lake  Pepin,  15- 

Lakes,  10,  13-15".  rock-walled,  15 

Leech  Lake,   10. 

Lewis  and  Clark,  26. 

Limestones.  16. 

Linseed  oil.  ^=;. 

Little  Falls,  35. 

Live  stock.  40. 

Location,  7- 

Logs  (Fig.  29),  24;  (Fig.  31).  24. 

Long,  Major,  27. 

Lumber,     31;     interests,     27,     28 

manufacturing,   34. 
Lumbering,  11,  21,  24;  center.  35 

industry,   34. 
Luverne,  37- 

Mankato,   10,   22.  35. 

Mantorville,  22. 

Manufactured  products,  map  (Fig, 

Manufactures,     24-25,    41. 

Manufacturing  cities,  leading,  41. 

Marshall,  37. 

Marshes,  1 1 . 

Mendota,  27. 

Mesabi  Range,  16,  23.  24,  26,  37. 

Michigan.  Territory  of.  26. 

Migration,    28. 

Military   reservations,    map    (Fig, 


25. 


of  (Fig.  32) 


Mills,  flouring.  31,  35;  lumber,  35 

paper,   35. 
Mining.  23-24. 
Minneapolis.    22,   25,  31-32".   i^ap 

(Fig.    48).    32;   milling   distri' 

(Fig.    32),    25;  residence  street 

(Fig.  49).  33- 


Minnehaha  Falls  (Fig.  46),  30. 
Minneopa  State  Park,   35. 
Minnesota    River,    10.   15,   35,   37; 

Valley,     ih,     22.     23. 
Minnesota  Valley, Towns  of  the,  35. 
Minnetonka,  Lake,  32,  map  (Fig. 

S),    14. 

Misquah  Hills,  11. 
Mississippi  Basin.  10,  11. 
Mississippi  River,  7,  10,  12,  15,  27; 

scene  on  (Fig.   33)^   25;    source 

of,   10;  System.   12;  tributaries, 

1 1 ",  Upper.  1 1. 
Mississippi-Minnesota   Valley,    10. 
Mississippi  Valley,   11,   25;  Upper. 

10,    11.   25. 
Mississippi     Valley     Towns,     Still 

Other,  33-34;  Upper,  34-35. 
Missouri  River,  10,  12. 
Montevideo.  35- 
Moorhead.  36. 
Mounds,  2  7. 

National  Guard,   34. 

Nelson  River,  7'-  System,  12. 

New  Ulm,  10.  35. 

Northeastern  Minnesota,  Towns  of, 

Northwest  Territory.  26. 
Northfield.  37. 
Nurseries.  34. 


Oats.  10,  21.  22;  field  of  (Fig.  23), 

Occupations  (Fig.  39)-  27. 
"Old  Ramsey  mill,**  24,  34- 
Ores,  23,  24. 
Owatonna,  36. 

Paper  mills,  35- 

Pearl  fisheries,  34. 

People,  The,  28. 

Pepin.  Lake  (Fip.    10).    15. 

Physical  map  (Fig.   3).   10. 

Pike,  General  Zebulon  Montgom- 


ery. 


5). 


Pine,  Xurway  tFig.  15).  19;  white, 
19. 

Pipestone,  37. 

Plateau,  36.  37. 

Point  Douglas,  1 5. 

Pokegama  Lake,   10. 

Political  map  (  Fig.  2).  8.  9. 

Population,  2S.  40;  (Fig.  3S).  27 
cities,  principal,  40;  course  of 
11;  foreign-bom,  28;  (Fig.  42) 
28:  gain  in,  31;  native-born 
(Fig.  41),  28;  state  or  coxmtry 
of  birth,  40;  urban  (Fig.  47).  31- 

Prairie.  9.  11.  12,  19,  20. 

Prairie  Island,  27. 

Quarry,  view  of  (Fig.  24),  22. 
Quarrying.  22-23,  34,  35. 
Quartz,  27. 


Railways.    25;   mileage   (Fig.    34) 

Rainfall,    iS,    10:    (Fig.    i4>.    18 

map  (Fig.  13).  18. 
Rainy  Lake.  15- 
Rainy  River,   12:  Valley,    11. 
Ramsey  mill.  24,  34. 
Red  Lake.  14. 
Red  Lake  River.  35. 
Red  River,  to.  12. 
Red  River  Valley,   11,  14.  i7.  lo 

21,     26,     35.     37;     agricultural 

resources  of,  28;  scene  on  farn 

in  (Fig.  4>.  II. 
Red  River  Valley  Towns.  35-36. 
Red  Wing,  10.  23.  27.  34;  (Fig.  52) 

34.  , 

Redwood    River,     scene     on    tht 

(Fig.  Ti),  16. 
Relief  map  (Fig.  i),  7- 
River,  12;  degrading  (Fig.  6),  13 
Rochester,  36. 
Rock  masses.  16. 


Rock  River.  12. 
Rocks.  22;  red.  16. 
Rocky  region.   1 1. 
Rum  River,  11.  34. 

St.  Anthony,  Falls  of,  24.  27,  31; 

(Fig.  2S».  23. 
St.  Anthony,  town  site.  31. 
St.  Cloud,  34. 
St.  Croix  Lake,  i  =;. 
St.  Croix  River,   m;  Valley,   it. 
St.  James,  37. 

St.  Lawrence  River,  7;  System,  12. 
St.  Louis  River,  12,  24. 
St.   Paul,    10,    22,     25.    31.    32-33\ 

map     (Fig.     48).     32;     Summit 

Avenue  (Fig.  50),  33- 
St.  Peter.  10,  35- 
Saganaga  Lake,  15. 
Sand.    16;   plains,    22;  spits   (Fig. 

Sandstone,  22. 

Sandstones.  if>. 

Sawteeth  Mountains,  11. 

Schoolcraft,   Henry  R.,    27. 

Schools,  29. 

Settlement,  early.   11. 

Shales,  16. 

"Shining    Mountains,**    10. 

Shovel,  steam  (Fig.  26).  23. 

Sieur  du  Luth,  27. 

Silt.  14.  15. 

Sink  holes,  14. 

Size.  7- 

Skidways,  avenue  of.  on  Pine 
Island  (Fig.    29).   24. 

Slate,  23. 

Sleepy  Eye,  37. 

Snowfall,  19. 

Soil,  II,  20.  22. 

Soldiers'  Home,  30;  (Fig.  46),  30. 

Soldiers'   Monument.    35- 

Soo  Canal,  29. 

Springs,   mineral,    1 8. 

State  Prison,  30. 

State  University,  29,  32;  Agricul- 
ture, School  of,  class  in  com 
judging  (Fig.  45).  30. 

Statistics  and  Aids  to  Teachers, 
30-41. 

Steam  hauler    (Fig.  30),  24. 

Stillwater,    2-,.    ^4. 

Stock  raising,    10.    22. 

Stone,  buiiamH.  i-'- 

Structure  of  the  State,  10-17- 

Sugar  Loaf  Mountain,  33".  (Fig. 
51)-     33- 

Superior,  26. 

Surface.    7-1 2;   features,    9. 

Swamp  area,  14;  (Fig.  9)-  ^5- 

Temperature,  map   (Fig.    12).    17. 

Thief  River  Falls,  36. 

Thomson,  23. 

Tracy,  3  7- 

Transportation,  by  water,  25. 

Two  Harbors.  26,  38. 

Underground   Waters,    17-18. 
Undine  region,  35- 

Valleys.  10.  12.  15. 
Vegetation,  19-20. 
Vermilion  Range,  23,  26,  37. 
VermiUon  River,  24, 
Virginia,  38. 
Volcanoes,   16. 

Wabasha,  10.  15,  34- 

Waseca,  37- 

Water  power,  24.  3i.  34-  35- 

Waterways,  25. 

Weathering,  16. 

Wheat,  21,  22,  3^\  crop  (Fig.  22) 

2  I ;  market.  36. 
Wheat  raising,  9.  >o- 
Willmar,  37. 
Winds,  18. 

Winnibigoshish  Lake,  10. 
Winona,  to.  23.  33- 
Winton,  38. 

Wood,  cords  of  (Fig.  30),  24. 
Wonnington,  37. 


[44] 


